Henry Ford and the Birth of the Model T

By | March 1, 2019

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Henry Ford and the Model T. Source: (wikipedia.commons.org)

Famed industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford is known for his creation of the Model T and his progressive strides in assembly-line factory production. He was also known for his controversial political views and is remembered as one of America’s leading businessmen.


Ford was born on July 30, 1863, in Dearborn, Michigan, located in Wayne County. His parents, William and Mary Ford, owned a farm. He showed an interest in machinery at an early age. When he was thirteen and his father gave him a pocket watch, his response was to take it apart and put it back together again. The family’s friends and neighbors were so impressed by this display of talent that they began coming to him when their own timepieces were in need of repair.   

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Henry Ford. Source: (networthpost.org)

At the age of sixteen, Ford moved to Detroit where he began working as an apprentice to a machinist. He eventually returned to the family farm but continued to work on steam engines and do occasional factory work in Detroit. He married Clara Bryant, who had grown up on a nearby farm, in 1888, and ran a sawmill for the first few years of their marriage. The couple moved to Detroit in 1891 and Ford was hired as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company. He was promoted to chief engineer two years later, around the same time as the birth of his only son, Edsel Bryant Ford.