Henry Ford
|
Henry Ford
30th July, 1863 to 7th April, 1947
Ford buys Lincoln
4th February, 1922: Henry Ford (standing left) and his
son, Edsel B. Ford (seated left), purchase the Lincoln Motor Company for $8 million from Henry Leland
(standing right) and his son Wilfred Leland (seated right).
1924 Model T Assembly Line
|
|
|
Home >
News >
Ford
Related stories:
Henry Ford and aviation
31st July, 2011
Henry Ford and car racing
31st July, 2011
Henry Ford and country music
31st July, 2011
Ford: more than just cars
28th December, 2010
31st July, 2011
Yesterday was the anniversary of Henry Ford's birth.
So today we take a brief look at the man, his life (including his interest in
aviation,
car racing
and
country music)
and the early years of the company he founded. Additionally, we publish a few of his well known
'quotes' and a few of the ways his memory survives today.
Henry Ford was born 30th July, 1863, in Springwells Township (between Dearborn and Detroit),
Michigan, USA.
Young Henry showed an early interest in mechanics. By the time he was 12, he was spending most of
his spare time in a small machine shop that he had equipped. There, at age 15, he constructed his
first steam engine.
Henry Ford's career as a builder of automobiles dated from 1893 when his interest in internal
combustion engines led him to construct a small one-cylinder gasoline model. The first Ford engine
sputtered its way into existance on a table in the kitchen of the Ford home in Detroit. A later
version of that engine powered his first automobile in 1896.
Henry Ford married Clara J. Bryant on 11th April, 1888. They had one son, Edsel Bryant Ford (6th
November, 1893 - 26th May, 1943) who passed away with stomach cancer at age 49.
Henry Ford died at his residence, Fair Lane in Dearborn (Michigan), at 11:40 PM on Monday, 7th
April 1947, following a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 83. At his bedside were Mrs. Ford and members of
the household staff. At the time of his death, flooding on the Rouge River, which flows through the
grounds at Fair Lane, had cut off electrical power. Old-fashioned kerosene lamps and candles were the
only sources of light in the house, a scene similar to that of his birth in the same county in 1863.
Funeral services were held from St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Detroit, and Henry was buried in
the Ford family cemetery at St. Martha's Episcopal Church in Detroit (Michigan).
Quotes from Henry Ford
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.”
“There isn’t a person anywhere that isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can.”
“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.”
“I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done.”
Museums
Today, Henry Ford is remembered in numerous tourist attractions in America.
In Detroit (Michigan), you can visit the
Henry Ford Museum
and
Greenfield Village.
In Fort Myers (Florida) there is the
Edison
& Ford Winter Estates.
NOTE: External web sites open in a new window.
| 
