Mar 1, 2013 | Dearborn, Mich.

Chronology of the Life of Henry Ford

• 1863: Born July 30 in Dearbornville, Springfield Township, Wayne County, Michigan

• 1876: Makes his own tools and repairs a broken watch after a farmhand explains to him its inner workings

• 1879: Leaves family farm for Detroit to work in machine shops. Leaves school with a sixth-grade education

• 1882: Runs steam engine on neighboring farm

• 1883 – 1884: Works two summers at Westinghouse demonstrating and repairing steam engines

• 1884: Takes a few courses at Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business University in Detroit for his only formal business training

• 1888: Marries Clara Bryant of Greenfield Township and moves to 80-acre farm in what is today Dearborn

• 1891: Secures position as engineer with the Edison Illuminating Co.; returns to Detroit

• 1893: Edsel Bryant Ford, only child of Henry and Clara Ford, born Nov. 6

• 1893: Builds a one-cylinder engine

• 1896: Completes his first automobile, the Quadricycle, and drives it through the streets of Detroit

• 1896: Meets Thomas Edison, who encourages Ford to continue with his automotive pursuits

• 1899: Ends eight years of employment with the Edison Illuminating Company to devote full attention to the manufacture of automobiles. Made chief engineer and partner in the newly formed Detroit Automobile Company, which produced only a few cars

• 1901: Drives his first racecar, "Sweepstakes," to victory

• 1901: Henry Ford Company organized with Ford as engineer. Ford resigns over dispute with bankers in 1902 and the company becomes the Cadillac Motor Car Co.

• 1902: With the help of his friends, Ford builds the "999" race car. With the famed Barney Oldfield at the wheel, "999" wins a 5-mile race, helping attract new backers for another automobile company

• 1903: Ford Motor Company is officially incorporated on June 16. Ford's first Model A appears on the market in Detroit

• 1903: Ford Motor Company makes its first sale on July 15. Dr. E. Pfennig of Chicago buys a Model A for $850, paid in full, and two other buyers make deposits, giving the company a much-needed infusion of cash

• 1904: Production begins at Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Ford Motor Company's first purpose-built factory

• 1906: The lightweight, inexpensive Model N is America's best seller

• 1907: Develops an experimental tractor

• 1908: Ford begins manufacturing the famous Model T

• 1910: Begins operations at factory in Highland Park, Mich.

• 1911: Ford Motor Company wins a lawsuit invalidating the 1879 Selden patent, which had claimed rights to all vehicles powered by internal combustion engines

• 1913: Introduces first moving automobile assembly line at Highland Park

• 1914: Announces his plan to share the Ford Motor Company's profits with workers, paying them $5.00 for an eight-hour day

• 1915: Founds Henry Ford Hospital

• 1915: The Oscar II, Ford's "Peace Ship," sets sail for Norway on a pacifist expedition to end World War I

• 1917: Begins construction of industrial facility on the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan

• 1917: Fordson tractor debuts

• 1918: Loses his bid for the U.S. Senate

• 1919: Edsel B. Ford, son of Henry Ford, is named president of Ford Motor Company

• 1921: Ford Motor Company dominates auto production with 55 percent of industry's total output

• 1922: Ford Motor Company buys Lincoln

• 1924: Begins work on what would later become the charcoal briquette

• 1926: Focuses on air transportation and develops the Tri-Motor airplane

• 1927: Transfers final assembly line from Highland Park plant to the Rouge. Production of the Model T ends, and the Model A is introduced

• 1929: Dedicates his Edison Institute of Technology and Greenfield Village with a celebration of 50 years of the electric light

• 1932: Builds first V-8 Ford car

• 1936: Ford Foundation established

• 1937: "Battle of the Overpass" occurs between Ford security staff and United Auto Workers union organizers. As a result, the court orders Ford not to interfere with union activity

• 1941: Ford Motor Company signs a contract with UAW

• 1943: Edsel B. Ford dies at age 49. Henry Ford resumes presidency

• 1947: Henry Ford dies at age 83, at Fair Lane, his Dearborn home
  
  ###