Henry Ford

By Tom Kirvan

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Co., was born on this day in 1863, less than two years before the Civil War would come to an end.

One of the foremost industrialists in American history, Ford ironically had a disdain for the subject, labeling history as “more or less bunk” during a 1916 interview with The Chicago Tribune.

Added Ford: “We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's dam is the history we make today."

In 1929, Ford would make his own history by opening Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich., a magnificent shrine to inventors, farmers, artisans, and craftsmen. Nearly a century later, Greenfield Village stands as one of Ford’s greatest creations, a living and lasting testimonial to American ingenuity.

Henry Ford*

Here’s some more food for thought from Ford, inventor of the Model T and the modern-day assembly line:

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.”
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”
“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”

*The image of Henry Ford was retrieved from: https://www.thehenryford.org/images/default-source/explore/henry-ford.jpg?Status=Master&sfvrsn=6ed62e01_2