Henry Ford was the industrialist for whom the Ford Motor Company was named. In 1891, Ford went to work for the Edison Illuminating Company (Later Detroit Edison Company). He advanced rapidly and became chief engineer. In his spare time, he worked in a building behind his home to build a “horseless carriage.” Thomas A. Edison, who later became a close friend, encouraged him at their first meeting in 1895. The next year Ford completed his first working model of an automobile. He later built several racing cars, including the 999 in which Barney Oldfield broke the world’s speed records in 1902 and 1903. Ford himself set a new record (91.3 miles per hour) (Collier 34).
In addition, a coal leader Alex Y. Malcomson, became interested in Ford’s car after Ford had failed twice to get into manufacturing. In 1903, Malcomson, Ford, and 10 other men formed the Ford Motor Company. After buying out Malcomson and two other stockholders in 1907-07, Ford became president and the dominant figure in the company. However, he shared control until 1915 with James Couzens, later United States senator from Michigan (Collier 35-37).
In 1911 Ford won a lengthy court fight in which it was decided that he had not infringed on the automotive patents of George B. Selden. This victory not only saved the Ford Motor Company from possible ruin, but benefited the entire industry be freeing other manufacturers from the necessity of paying royalties. By 1915, Ford’s company was producing almost half of all the automobiles sold in the United States (Collier 37).
Furthermore, He is considered the man who “put America on wheels” because the assembly-line method of manufacturing, which he pioneered, allowed him to become the first to produce low-priced autos in large quantities (Collier 41).