Henry Ford's Early Life

Henry Ford's Early Life

• Henry Ford was born just after the Battle of Gettysburg and lived to see the beginning of the Cold War.
• His father was an Irish immigrant who fled Ireland during the Great Famine and settled on a farm in Dearborn, Michigan.
• His mother was a second-generation immigrant from Belgium, raised by Irish neighbors when she was orphaned.
• Despite his parents' hard-scrabble stories, they became successful and prosperous farmers, ensuring young Henry was never truly poor.

Henry Ford's Dislike of Farm Work

• Henry Ford hated farm work, finding it repetitive, physically taxing, and isolating.
• He despised horses, calling them dangerous and ill-tempered, and found drinking milk repulsive.
• He even considered chicken meat unfit for human consumption.
• Henry would often shirk his farm duties, and his parents, especially his mother, would indulge him.

Henry Ford's Early Interest in Engineering

• At 12, Henry saw a portable traction engine, which was self-propelled, and was immediately fascinated.
• He bombarded the engineer with questions, and this moment never left him.
• At 16, Henry convinced his father to let him move to Detroit to find an engineering job.

Henry Ford's Education and Career

• Henry Ford's formal schooling stopped at eighth grade, and he had little education that would prepare him for an industrial career.
• He sought out roles where he could learn and experiment, often taking jobs that had stores of older equipment he could try out.
• By 19, Henry was skilled enough to get hired by Westinghouse to fix similar machines.
• He repaired an internal combustion engine, which helped him see the potential of gasoline, and built a miniature model engine.

Henry Ford's First Car

• Henry built a vehicle called the Ford quadricycle, which he described to Thomas Edison.
• He took his first drive on the quadricycle at 3 am on June 4th, 1896, but soon sold it to build a better model.
• He envisioned a car that could not only enter the next great American motor race but also win it.

Henry Ford's Marriage and Family

• Henry married Clara Bryant, who was patient and supportive of his experiments.
• Clara had seemingly endless reserves of patience, even when Henry brought his new gasoline engine into their kitchen on Christmas Eve 1893.
• They had a son, Edsel, who was born in 1893.

Henry Ford's Early Life

• Born after the Battle of Gettysburg and lived to see the beginning of the Cold War
• Father was an Irish immigrant who fled Ireland during the Great Famine and settled on a farm in Dearborn, Michigan
• Mother was a second-generation immigrant from Belgium, raised by Irish neighbors when she was orphaned
• Parents were successful and prosperous farmers, ensuring Henry was never truly poor

Henry Ford's Dislike of Farm Work

• Hated farm work, finding it repetitive, physically taxing, and isolating
• Despised horses, calling them dangerous and ill-tempered
• Found drinking milk repulsive and considered chicken meat unfit for human consumption
• Often shirked farm duties, and his parents, especially his mother, would indulge him

Henry Ford's Early Interest in Engineering

• At 12, saw a portable traction engine and was immediately fascinated
• Bombarded the engineer with questions, and this moment never left him
• At 16, convinced his father to let him move to Detroit to find an engineering job

Henry Ford's Education and Career

• Formal schooling stopped at eighth grade
• Had little education that would prepare him for an industrial career
• Sought out roles where he could learn and experiment
• At 19, skilled enough to get hired by Westinghouse to fix similar machines
• Repaired an internal combustion engine, which helped him see the potential of gasoline
• Built a miniature model engine

Henry Ford's First Car

• Built a vehicle called the Ford quadricycle
• Described the quadricycle to Thomas Edison
• Took his first drive on the quadricycle at 3 am on June 4th, 1896
• Sold it to build a better model
• Envisioned a car that could not only enter the next great American motor race but also win it

Henry Ford's Marriage and Family

• Married Clara Bryant, who was patient and supportive of his experiments
• Clara had seemingly endless reserves of patience, even when Henry brought his new gasoline engine into their kitchen on Christmas Eve 1893
• Had a son, Edsel, born in 1893