by Steven Mars

Created on: November 06, 2009   Last Updated: June 23, 2011

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan and died on April 7, 1947. His father was a farmer named William Ford, who lived from 1826-1905. He was born in County Cork, Ireland. His mother's name was Mary Litogot, who lived from 1839-1876. At the age of sixteen, Henry Ford was an apprentice machinist in the city of Detroit. He married Clara Bryant in 1888, running a sawmill to support himself and his wife. Ford was an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company from 1891 to 1896. In 1893, he became Chief Engineer. This gave him enough time and money to study internal combustion engines. He also worked for the Westinghouse Engine Company.

On June 4, 1896, he invented the quadricycle, a four-wheeled self-propelled vehicle. It used gasoline for power. The gasoline engine was two cylinder and four cycle. The gasoline tank had a capacity of three gallons. The diameter of the wheels was twenty-six inches. It was built on a steel frame. The dash was made of wood. It had an electric bell for a horn and a bicycle lamp so it could be driven at night. The same year (1896), Henry Ford was introduced to Thomas Alva Edison while he attended a meeting of Edison executives. Edison approved of Ford's work on automobiles.

On January 12, 1900, the Detroit Automobile Company introduced a delivery wagon designed by Henry Ford. The Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as Vice President and Chief Engineer. On July 23, 1903, Ford Motor Company sold its first automobile, a Model A designed by Henry Ford himself. The Model T was produced by the Ford Motor Company in 1908. It was an efficient and reliable car. It started the mass production of automobiles. In 1913, Henry Ford designed a continuous moving assembly line. n 1903, the Ford Motor Company designed a car for the "multitude" that cost $950.00 each.

It was called the Model T. The price went as low as $280.00 during its sales life. About 15,500,000 Model Ts were sold in the United States. Production for the Model T ended on May 27, 1927. About 1913 Ford invented an improvement to the assembly line. It was the first conveyor belt based assembly line. It was called a "moving assembly line". It was used to increase the production rate of the Model T. This also caused a reduction in prices. The Model T was assembled in ninety-three minutes.

Ford invented an automobile that was lighter than metal cars on January 13, 1942. It was made of plastic. He also invented a V8 engine in 1932. It was compact with a down draft carburetor. Sales outperformed all others because of its low price. "Watch The Fords Go By" was the slogan in 1934.

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