Henry Ford

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863, making him the first child of William and Mary Ford's six children. At an early age he expressed great interest in mechanical things and not his farm work. At age 16, Henry left home to become an apprentice machinist for three years although he would occasionally come home and work on the farm with his parents. After his apprenticeship had ended he divided his time between the farm and working on steam engines. Upon his marriage to Clara Bryant in 1888 he supported his new family by running a saw mill. In 1891 he became an engineer in the Edison Illuminating Company. In 1893 he was promoted to chief engineer, which gave him the time and the money to pursue his own interests in the combustion engine. The Ford Motor Company was established in 1903, however very unsuccessful. In 1908 he began producing the Model T. This car was a great success. It was cheap and reliable. In 1913 he introduced the moving assembly line which allowed the company to mass produce the cars, and thus reducing the price of the car even more.