| Just about everyone in the world has heard of the | | | | The Ford Motor Company was one of the very first |
| Ford name. Their cars are some of the most famous | | | | to offer a $5 per day wage to workers, which more |
| in the world, from race cars to mini vans and | | | | than doubled his workforce. He then was able to build |
| everything in between. But how much do you know | | | | a gigantic factory that would take in raw materials and |
| about Henry Ford, his legacy, and his influence on the | | | | then ship out the finished automobiles, such as the |
| world as we know it? As the founder of the Ford | | | | Model T in October 1, 1908. Ford ensured that the |
| Motor Company and basically the father of the | | | | Model T was priced cheap enough, and continued to |
| assembly line, Henry Ford changed the way that many | | | | drop the price, so that almost every driver in America |
| things were made in factories throughout the world. His | | | | had to learn to drive the Model T. |
| inventions and vision as well as business smarts paved | | | | When the automobiles that Ford was designing and |
| the way for many business owners throughout the | | | | building really began to take off, he developed an |
| 20th century. | | | | interest in auto racing and began to get involved in the |
| Born on July 30, 1863, Ford's family ran a farm in | | | | sport, both as a driver and car builder. Of course, he |
| Greenfield near Detroit, Michigan. He was always a | | | | later turned the wheel over to more seasoned, hired |
| very inquisitive child, and when his father gave him a | | | | drivers. Although he fully supported the Indianapolis 500 |
| pocket watch in his early teens, it wasn't long before | | | | and participated in many different races, he began to |
| he had taken it apart and reassembled it - along with | | | | get disillusioned with the constantly changing rules of |
| the watches of several friends and family members. | | | | racing and finally dropped out altogether. Even though |
| When Henry's mother passed away in 1876, he began | | | | he left racing, he still made an extreme impact on the |
| to realize that he would not stay on and run the family | | | | racing world as a whole and he was inducted into the |
| farm as his father wanted him to. So, in 1879, he left to | | | | Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996. |
| work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit. After three | | | | Of course, Ford's interests in materials science and |
| years, he returned home to work on the farm for | | | | engineering only aided in making both the first |
| awhile and became an expert at operating the | | | | automobiles as well as continuing to make them better |
| Westinghouse portable steam engine and was soon | | | | constantly. He was extremely proud of the company's |
| hired by Westinghouse to work on their engines. After | | | | adoption of vanadium steel alloys as well as the |
| taking a position as an engineer with the Edison | | | | subsequent metallurgic R&D work. He also had a huge |
| Illuminating Company, it wasn't long before he rose to | | | | interest in plastics that were developed from different |
| the Chief Engineer position where he finally had | | | | agricultural products, like soybeans. Due to this interest, |
| enough time and money to concentrate on his own | | | | he developed a personal friendship with George |
| personal experiments on gasoline powered engines. In | | | | Washington Carver. Ford had soybean-based parts |
| 1896, he successfully created a self-propelled vehicle | | | | throughout his automobiles in the '30s as well as |
| which he called the Ford Quadricycle. After a few test | | | | patenting an automobile that was made just about |
| drives, he refined his new invention. | | | | entirely out of plastic that was on a tubular welded |
| From here, he developed a passion for these gasoline | | | | frame in 1942. This one car weighed 30% less than a |
| powered vehicles, and after being encouraged by | | | | steel car and could withstand blows ten times greater |
| Thomas Edison, he founded the Detroit Automobile | | | | than normal steel, plus it ran on ethanol instead of gas. |
| Company. The problem was that the automobiles that | | | | But, unfortunately for everyone today, the design |
| were produced were too high priced and lower quality | | | | never caught on. |
| than Ford wanted. He let the company dissolve in 1901. | | | | On top of his obvious contributions to the automobile |
| With the help of C. Harold Wills, he developed and | | | | industry, he helped to make huge advances in |
| raced a 26-horsepower automobile in 1901 and with | | | | engineering woods, such as particle board, helped to |
| this successful venture, he gained the backing of | | | | develop corn as a fuel source, such as ethanol, and |
| several stockholders to create the Henry Ford | | | | helped develop potential uses for cotton. Henry Ford |
| Company on November 30, 1901. After a new | | | | also paved the way for millions of people grill their food |
| consultant was brought in that Ford disagreed with, he | | | | by being an instrumental in developing charcoal |
| left and the company was renamed the Cadillac | | | | briquettes, under the brand Kingsford. On top of all of |
| Automobile Company. After another odd car company | | | | these contributions to both the automobile industry and |
| fell through with the help of the Dodge brothers, Ford | | | | more, he also made contributions to sociology with |
| finally found another set of investors that would see | | | | studies, inspirational references and writings. His |
| through with his ideals. With the help of the Dodge | | | | inventions touched, and continues to touch millions of |
| brothers, Ford created the Ford Motor Company on | | | | people, all around the world and shape the way that |
| June 16, 1903. | | | | both fuels and the way that we travel. |