Some consider him an icon of the self-made man. Some accuse him of being a liar and a traitor. His revolutionary innovative concept, called after him “Fordism”, helped to increase the economic prosperity of the United States in the 1940s to 1960s. He was also responsible for the creation of the Ford Foundation – one of the world’s richest philanthropic organizations.

During his life he was known as a man, who in spite of his wealth continued to care for the common man. But also as a person, who was responsible for publishing nearly a hundred anti-Semitic articles in his newspaper the Dearborn Independent.

There is no single opinion of Henry Ford. One thing however that can be confidently said about him is that he was a great man, who was not afraid to dream BIG and go after his dream…

Poor Student and Poor Farmer

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 on a farm near Dearborn. When Ford was 12 years old his mother died during childbirth, leaving him and his 5 siblings in the care of their father. Until the age of 15 Ford attended school, even though he strongly disliked it. He never learned to spell or read well and wrote only using the simplest sentences.

His lack of interest in his studies was compensated by his fascination for machinery and mechanical objects. He repaired his first watch at the age of 13 and soon neighbors and friends started to bring him their broken watches to fix.
Since his early childhood Ford knew that farm life was not for him and as soon as he got the chance he headed to Detroit to become an apprentice. In 1882, Henry finished his apprenticeship and was qualified to work as a machinist.

This did not appeal to his father at all. He offered Ford a bargain – forty acres of timberland in exchange for the promise that he gave up machinery. Ford accepted the proposal, and used the land to build a small house, sawmill and a first-class machinist’s workshop (to the great disappointment of his dad).

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