Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863.  He was the son of William and Mary .
            
  Ford went to school in a one-room schoolhouse along with helping his father with .
            
the harvest.  He did not like school or farm life so he walked to Detroit at age 16 in .
            
search of a job.  .
            
      In 1888, Henry married Clara Bryant.  Several years later he was made chief engineer .
            
at the Detroit Edison Company.  The position allowed him time to experiment.  He .
            
experimented with gasoline-powered vehicles and horse-less carriages before his first .
            
vehicle was completed.  In 1896 the Quadricycle, a vehicle with a buggy frame mounted .
            
on four bicycle wheels, was completed.
            
     In 1903, Ford formed the Ford Motor Company and produced an automobile he was .
            
ready to market.  He introduced the successful Model T in 1908, which was .
            
manufactured for 19 years.  Unfortunately, Ford's successes still had problems.  He .
            
fought many legal battles but won his case in 1911.  .
            
     Ford was able to market the Model T to the public due to his advanced production of .
            
technology.  The introduction of the assembly line reduced production time in 1913.  .
            
Automobiles were made more available and cheaper as a result of the assembly line.  .
            
Ford also claimed that the $5.00 a day minimum wage increased productivity.  .
            
     Ford began losing sales to General Motors because the Model T was becoming .
            
outdated in 1926.  After the Ford plants were shut down for five months, he introduced .
            
the Model A and later the V-8.  The models had moderate success but were outsold by .
            
General Motors and Chrysler.
            
     The problems Ford Motor Company had were due to Ford's stubborn and .
            
authoritarian management style.  Ford refused to sign the contracts with the United .
            
Automobile Workers.  He hired spies and company policed to prevent his workers from .
            
unionization.  Finally, Ford was persuaded to sign the contract with the United .
            
Automobile Workers in 1941.
            
     Ford resumed his son's presidency in 1943.