Henry Ford (1863-1947) was born on a farm in Springwell.  In 1879, he moved to Detroit.  He started out life as an assistant in a workshop, but by the beginning of the'90s he had a management position with the 'Edison Illuminating Company'.  In 1892, Ford designed his first car.  However, it was several years before he quit the day job and on the 16 June 1903, founded the 'Ford Motor Company' together with a number of friends.  On 1 October 1908, the first Model T Ford was introduced.  This model would go on to be produced practically unchanged, for almost nineteen years and in total more than 15 million cars were to be sold.  The Model T Ford was certainly not the best American car, but it was the cheapest and the most reliable.  In 1914, a Model T Ford emerged from the factory every 40 seconds and in 1925 it was possible to deliver more than 9,000 in one day.  The Model T Ford was succeeded by the Model A Ford, but Henry Ford mistimed its introduction.  The first Model A Ford could only be delivered six months later, on 2 December 1927.  The V8 engine was designed by Henry's son, Edsel.  Unfortunately, Edsel Ford died in 1943 at the age of 49.  Henry Ford once again took over the management of the company.  In 1945, he was succeeded by his eldest grandchild, Henry Ford II.  Two years later, at the age of 82, the founder of this legendary motor company died.

 Source: Motorbase

1903-to date USA

Henry Ford was born into a farming family of Dearborn, Michigan in 1863 and from an early age he was attracted to things mechanical, building his first car in 1896. After a number of false starts Henry obtained adequate financial backing and the Ford Motor Company was established in the summer of 1903. The firm’s initial product, the Ford Model A, was a typical American automobile of the period and some 670 examples were sold in the first fifteen months. At the end of 1904 a new factory was built, ten times bigger than the original and by April 1905 300 men were turning out 25 cars per day.

Come 1908 and Ford had reached the letter T in his automobile alphabet. This model contributed hugely to putting America and much of the rest of the world on the motoring map with over 15 million Model Ts being made in a twenty-year production run.

Henry Ford died in 1947 having established a manufacturing empire that today is a global industry.

Source: Society of Automotive Historians in Britain