Born July 30, 1863 Greenfield Township, Michigan, U.S. Died April
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Born July 30, 1863 Greenfield Township, Michigan, U.S. Died April 7, 1947 (aged 83) Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. Nationality American Occupation Founder of Ford Motor, business magnate, engineering Net worth $188.1 billion (based on February 2008 data from Forbes) Religion Anglican Early life Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan.[3] His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family that was originally from Somerset, England,[4] His mother, Mary Ford (née Litogot) (1839–1876), was born in Michigan as the youngest child of Belgianimmigrants; her parents died when she was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings were Margaret Ford (1867–1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Robert Ford (1873–1934). His father gave him a pocket watch in his early teens. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman. [5] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday.[6] Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm, but he despised farm work. He later wrote, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved."[7] In 1879, Ford left home to work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm, where he became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired byWestinghouse to service their steam engines. During this period Ford also studied bookkeeping at Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business College in Detroit. Marriage and family Henry Ford in 1888, aged 25 Ford married Clara Ala Bryant (1866–1950) in 1888 and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill.[9] They had one child: Edsel Ford (1893–1943).[10] Career In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. After his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He test-drove it on June 4. After various test drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle.[11] Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation. Encouraged by Edison, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, completing it in 1898.[12]Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned from the Edison Company and founded theDetroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899.[12] However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford wanted. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901.[12] With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. With this success, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, with Ford as chief engineer.[12] In 1902, Murphy brought in Henry M. Leland as a consultant; Ford, in response, left the company bearing his name. With Ford gone, Murphy renamed the company the Cadillac Automobile Company.[12] Teaming up with former racing cyclist Tom Cooper, Ford also produced the 80+ horsepower racer "999" which Barney Oldfield was to drive to victory in a race in October 1902. Ford received the backing of an old acquaintance, Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer.[12] They formed a partnership, "Ford & Malcomson, Ltd." to manufacture automobiles. Ford went to work designing an inexpensive automobile, and the duo leased a factory and contracted with a machine shop owned by John and Horace E. Dodge to supply over $160,000 in parts.[12] Sales were slow, and a crisis arose when the Dodge brothers demanded payment for their first shipment. Later career and death When Edsel, president of Ford Motor Company, died of cancer in May 1943, the elderly and ailing Henry Ford decided to assume the presidency. By this point in his life, he had had several cardiovascular events (variously cited as heart attack or stroke) and was mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and generally no longer fit for such immense responsibilities.[86] Most of the directors did not want to see him as president. But for the previous 20 years, though he had long been without any official executive title, he had always had de facto control over the company; the board and the management had never seriously defied him, and this moment was not different. The directors elected him,[87] and he served until the end of the war. During this period the company began to decline, losing more than $10 million a month ($136,290,000 a month today). The administration of President Franklin Roosevelt had been considering a government takeover of the company in order to ensure continued war production,[53] but the idea never progressed. In ill health, Ford ceded the presidency to his grandson Henry Ford II in September 1945 and went into retirement. He died in 1947 of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 83 in Fair Lane, his Dearborn estate. A public viewing was held at Greenfield Village where up to 5,000 people per hour filed past the casket. Funeral services were held in Detroit'sCathedral Church of St. Paul and he was buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit Personal interests A compendium of short biographies of famous Freemasons, published by a Freemason lodge, lists Ford as a member.[89] The Grand Lodge of New York confirms that Ford was a Freemason, and was raised in Palestine Lodge No. 357, Detroit, in 1894. When he received his 33rd in 1940, he said, "Masonry is the best balance wheel the United States has."[90] In 1923, Ford's pastor, and head of his sociology department, Episcopal minister Samuel S. Marquis, claimed that Ford believed, or "once believed," inreincarnation.[91] Ford published an anti-smoking book, circulated to youth in 1914, called The Case Against the Little White Slaver, which documented many dangers of cigarette smoking attested to by many researchers and luminaries.[92] At the time smoking was ubiquitous and was not yet widely associated with health detriment, so Ford's opposition to cigarettes was unusual. Personal interests A compendium of short biographies of famous Freemasons, published by a Freemason lodge, lists Ford as a member.[89] The Grand Lodge of New York confirms that Ford was a Freemason, and was raised in Palestine Lodge No. 357, Detroit, in 1894. When he received his 33rd in 1940, he said, "Masonry is the best balance wheel the United States has."[90] In 1923, Ford's pastor, and head of his sociology department, Episcopal minister Samuel S. Marquis, claimed that Ford believed, or "once believed," inreincarnation.[91] Ford published an anti-smoking book, circulated to youth in 1914, called The Case Against the Little White Slaver, which documented many dangers of cigarette smoking attested to by many researchers and luminaries.[92] At the time smoking was ubiquitous and was not yet widely associated with health detriment, so Ford's opposition to cigarettes was unusual. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY F For the past four years, the Ethisphere Institute has nominated Ford as one of the world’s most ethical companies. Ford has adopted a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives and has made sustainability a major priority. The company has an online global ethics training program for employees available in 13 languages. The company also offers hotlines for employees in 24 countries and trains its Office of the General Counsel on how to handle global complaints. The following sections will discuss Ford’s initiatives to improve employee conduct and well-being, its community involvement initiatives, and the sustainability of its products. EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING Ford recognizes that without its dedicated employees, the firm would cease to function. It has therefore introduced a number of employee initiatives to motivate employees and increase their quality of life. For instance, Ford has developed a Sustainable Workforce Initiative to improve employee well-being, productivity, and efficiency. The Sustainable Workforce Initiative is based on four different principles: strategic hiring, training, protection and safety, and healthcare. Strategic hiring means that Ford does what it can to ensure that the best person is selected for a particular position. Training varies depending upon the level of the employee; for example, semi-skilled operators receive about six months of training. Ford also makes use of simulated factory training in its program. In 1999 Ford revamped its safety program and created global safety process standards that have reduced injury rates to one-tenth what they were in 1999. Realizing the potential dangers of repetitive motion, Ford also conducts virtual ergonomic assessments to identify and thereby reduce injuries. Finally, Ford has partnered with the United Auto Workers union to offer a voluntary two-year enhanced healthcare program that offers personalized care to employees with chronic health issues. Ford is also a strong supporter of employee diversity and education. Ford Motor created an employee program called Ford Interfaith Network to help employees learn about and respect different religious beliefs. Every year Ford holds a National Day of Prayer at its Ford World Headquarters and invites employees of all races, ethnicities, and religion to participate.