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Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business magnate.As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism.
After more than two years of experimentation, Ford, at the age of 32, had completed his first experimental automobile. [5] The success of the little vehicle led to the founding of the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899, followed by the Henry Ford Company in 1901 and then later the Ford Motor Company in 1903. [6]
1947: Henry Ford dies of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 83; Henry Ford II becomes new chairman. 1948: F-1 Truck introduced. Lincoln Continental is introduced. 1949: The '49 Ford introduces all-new post-war era cars. The "Woody" station wagon is introduced. 1953 Ford Canada Headquarters and Car Plant opens in Oakville, Ontario
Henry Ford testified that the patent did more to hinder than encourage development of autos in the United States. [41] The first automobiles were produced by Carl Benz in 1888 in Germany and, under license from Benz, in France by Emile Roger. There were numerous others, including tricycle builders Rudolf Egg, Edward Butler, and Léon Bollée.
The Model T was Ford's first automobile mass-produced on moving assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the middle class. [32] Henry Ford said of the vehicle: I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for.
Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company played a critical role in the economic growth of the time period due to its rapid sales of the Model T. By 1924, approximately ten thousand Ford Motor Company dealerships operated throughout the United States. Ford's method of assembly line production and stable wages for workers made the Model T a popular car.
The original Ford Model A is the first car produced by the Ford Motor Company, beginning production in 1903.Ernest Pfennig, a Chicago dentist, became the first owner of a Model A on July 23, 1903; [4] 1,750 cars were made in 1903 and 1904 at the Ford Mack Avenue Plant, a modest rented wood-frame building on Detroit's East Side, and Ford's first facility.
In an attempt to compete with General Motors' mid-priced Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, Ford created the Mercury in 1939 as a higher-priced companion car to Ford. Henry Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, [24] in order to compete with such brands as Cadillac and Packard for the luxury segment of the automobile market. [25]