HENRY FORD - A GREAT INNOVATOR
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THE BACKGROUND
Ford was born on July 30, 1863 during the US Civil War in
a farmland at Dearborn, near Detroit, Michigan. His mother passed away in March
1876. Later the same year, Ford got a job at the Michigan Car Company, but was
sacked six days later for indicating a flaw in his foreman's work (Refer Exhibit
I for important events in Ford's life).
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As a boy, Ford developed his interest in mechanics by
taking watches apart to look at how they worked. He would take the watch apart
and then make it work again by joining the components together. Describing
Ford's nature, Brinkley said, "Like the automobile itself, Ford's mind was never
stationary. He was antsy to the point of near insanity and always willing to
roll the dice, taking calculated risks and dreaming of a better tomorrow."[1]
While still a school boy, Ford developed a steam turbine engine with a high
number of revolutions per minute, which unfortunately burst and destroyed the
school walls. Ford had a tool kit at home, which included a screwdriver,
designed from a knitting needle and a pair of pincers, shaped from a watch
spring. He loved to 'tinker' with things and was nicknamed the 'Grand Tinkerer.'
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Ford dropped out of school at the age of 15. He had a
strong aptitude for mechanics and engineering. He was keenly interested in
learning how different things worked. Elucidating Ford's unique personality,
James said, "Ford was a gregarious, well-liked youth, but not overly studious.
He was a hands-on learner, always tinkering."[2]
In 1879, when Ford was 16, he ran away from home. He went to Detroit where he
worked as a trainee in a machine shop called James Flower & Brothers (JF&B) to
learn how machines were made. Here, Ford acquired new skills such as to read
blueprints and also studied the working of the internal combustion engine[3]
. Ford
worked six days a week at JF&B and was paid $2.50 a week for ten hours work per
day. He stayed on this job for three years. In 1881, he began working at Dry
Dock Engine Works (DDEW), a steamship company in Detroit. This gave him a chance
to work with motors. Dissatisfied with his work at DDEW, Ford went back to
Dearborn in 1882. He spent a few years in Dearborn in various activities like
managing and repairing steam engines, working temporarily in Westinghouse Engine
Company (Detroit), and repairing his father's farm equipment.
[1] As quoted in the article, "Ford At 100: A Century of
Audacious Tinkering," by Douglas Brinkley, Detroit Free Press, June 12, 2003.
[2] As quoted in the article, "Henry Had the
Dream," by Sheryl James, Detroit Free Press, March 27, 2003.
[3] Gasoline engines are also known
as internal combustion engines and are divided into two general classes, namely
two-cycle and four-cycle engines. An internal-combustion engine is any engine
that operates by burning its fuel inside the engine. Generally, the term
'internal combustion engine' is used only to refer to engines in which fuel is
burned intermittently, thus excluding jet engines and gas engines which burn
fuel continuously.
THE 'MECHANICAL'
JOURNEY OF FORD
FORD -
THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN OF AUTOMOBILE
MODEL T - AN
ASTOUNDING SUCCESS
ADDITIONAL
READINGS & REFERENCES
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