Henry FordHenry Ford was not so much an inventor nor was he an originator. His genius was in his ability to coordinate the best ideas of other men and reap from them their greatest potential. Henry Ford took the internal combustion engine which had already been invented. Henry Ford also borrowed the idea of the horseless carriage, which was already on America's roads. Henry Ford adapted the idea of the assembly line, already in practice in other factories, and he combined them all into the development of one of the largest industries ever created. That industry permanently changed the economic and social character of the United States. When Henry Ford left his father's farm in 1879, two out of eight Americans lived in cities. When Henry Ford died at age 83, five out of eight lived in cities. Henry Ford 's automobile was a key part in the transition from a rural, agricultural America to an industrial America. It was a change that many, including Henry Ford himself, would come to question. It was Will Rogers who perhaps best summed up the contributions of Henry Ford and many other great men when he said to Ford: "It will take a hundred years to tell whether you have helped us or hurt us. But you certainly didn't leave us like you found us."
|
|
All content on this website is Copyright © 2007-2008 Biography Help. All rights reserved Worldwide.
