On July 30, 1863, Henry Ford was born in present-day Dearborn, Michigan.
Growing up on his family’s farm, Ford disliked the everyday labor of farm work, but showed an affinity for machinery from working on his father’s farm equipment. Eventually, Ford took a machine apprenticeship in Detroit, and later joined the Edison Illuminating Company as an engineer.
In his free time, Ford began experimenting with internal combustion engines. These experiments led to his first automobile, the Quadricycle (pictured). This achievement, along with support from Thomas Edison, led Ford to build more vehicles and found the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899, but that venture dissolved in 1901. Ford tried again with the Henry Ford Company (which eventually became Cadillac), but his automotive career really took off when he founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
From there, Ford became known as a pioneer of the auto industry, developing the Model T, perfecting a moving assembly line, standardizing the five-day work week and laying a foundation for one of the largest automakers in the world.
