Henry Ford: Highlights of His Life

In the spring of 1896 Henry Ford slipped his first self‑made horseless carriage onto Detroit’s cobblestones, a daring test that began with literally knocking a wall out of his shed. By day he engineered for the Illuminating Company, but evenings were spent tweaking engines and watching the nation’s growing fascination with automobiles, sparked by Edison’s proclamation that the horse was doomed and by high‑profile races. After a brief stint with the Detroit Automobile Company, Ford turned to racing, beating Alexander Winton’s “Bullet” and later setting a new record with the “999,” proving his designs could compete.

The triumph caught the eye of coal dealer A.Y. Malcomson, and together they gathered enough capital to launch the Ford Motor Company in June 1903, backed by a mix of financiers and the Dodge brothers’ machine shop. Working out of a modest rented plant, a dozen workers assembled the first Model A from parts supplied by various partners, and the car quickly earned a reputation as a reliable “boss of the road.