Henry Ford Passes at 83; He Put America on Wheels
Article taken from The Traverse City Record Eagle, April 8, 1947
Auto Magnate Dies Suddenly of Hemorrhage
Deathbed Lighted Only By Candles and Old-Fashioned Lamps
Detroit, April 8 - (UP)
Henry Ford, his last thoughts on his automobile empire, died at his "Fairlane" home in suburban Dearborn last night of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 83.
His deathbed was lighted by candles and old-fashioned kerosene lamps, in a setting that was a strong reminder of his farm boyhood.
Ford's grandson and successor, Henry II, announced today that the world-famour auto maker's death was sudden and unexpected.
Torrential rains and a flood had disabled the Ford's home lighting and heating system and these same conditions had caused the old man to tour stricken branches of his industrial empire.
As Ford lay dying, the only heat provided his modest residence came from woodburing fireplaces.
His wife, Clara Bryant Ford, whom he called his "inspiration" during their long married lief, and a member of the household staff were with him when he died.
Dr. John Mateer, of the Henry Ford hospital staff, arrived half an hour after Ford died. He said death was due to cerebral hemorrhage.
Young Henry, president of the Ford Motor company, announced that all flags would be flown at half staff until after the funeral.
Started as a Farm Boy
Death was unexpected to the one-time farmer boy whose novel ideas and driving ambition ballooned a machine shop in his father's barn into a billion dollar worldwide industrial empire.
Ford had spent yesterday afternoon in the vast River Rouge auto plant and at Greenfield Village, a museum showplace and principal hobby of the old man in his declining years, to survey the extent of the flood damage.
He told Ray Dahlinger, a personal aide, that he would leave early today to visit Flat Rock, Cherry Hill and other outlying Ford properties. It entailed a 50-mile tour.
"The persons who were with Mr. Ford during the afternoon said he had never looked better and that he was full of his usual vitality," his grandson announced.
The elderly auto maker retired about 9 p.m., his usual time, and awakened about 11:15. he complained of feeling ill and Mrs. Ford gave him a drink of water, Ford died 25 minutes later.
News of Ford's death was carried by Robery Rankin, longtime family chauffeur. With "Fairlane's" telephone knoched out by the flood, Rankin drove to the Dearborn enginerring laboratory to call the doctor.
Funeral to be Thursday
Young Ford announced that funeral services would be held Thursday from St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Detroit. The body will lie in state until then at Recreation Hall, Greenfield Village, beginning at 8 a.m. tomorrow.
Ford was the last of the mighty American industrial trumvirate--Ford, Harvey Firestone and Thomas Alva Edison--who influenced every walk of life by their industrial pioneering.
Ford was born of Irish Stock at Dearborn
Article taken from same newspaper.
Henry Ford was born in a small comfortable farm house near Dearborn, Michigan on July 30, 1863, the son of a frugal and industrious farmer, William Ford, and Mary Litogot Ford. His father was 36, his mother 22. The elder Ford was a native of Brandon, Ireland, who met his wife when he went to work on her father's farm 10 miles from Detroit.
The boy, Henry, showed his mechanical aptitude by the time he was 11, and when he was 18 decided against being a farmer in favor of becoming a mechanic. He went to work for $2.50 a week for six 10-hour days for the Flower Brothers machine shop.
Ford built his first car in the winter of 1893, when he was 30. It had a small, two-cylinder gasoline engine, mounted on a frame and fitted with four bicycle wheels. That was when he was chief engineer for the Edison Illuminating company.
In the next four years, he made three cars. In 1899, he quit his job and helped organize the Detroit Automobile company, which later became the Cadillac Automobile company.
Meanwhile, he made several racing cars. He raced and defeated Alexander Winton at the Grose Point, Michigan track on October 10, 1901, and established a world record of 39.25 seconds for a mile on January 12, 1904; with his "Old 999."
Unable to convince his associated of the feasability of volume auto production, Ford resigned from the Detroit Automobile company in March 1902, and formed the Ford Motor company, capitalizied at $100,000 on June 15, 1903.
In his first year, Ford made and sold 1,708 automobiles, and his dream of mass production was realized. But is was after he designed the famous Model T in 1908 that his fortune swelled.
He produced 15,000,000 Model T's in 20 years. In 1928, Ford introduced the Model A and the V-8 was put on the market in 1932. With the advent of World War II, Ford had sold more than 31,000,000 cars and trucks.
Ford's operations occupied several locations in Detroit and suburban Highland Park, before he began building the present factory on the River Rouge in Dearborn in 1916. The Rouge plant now normally employs nearly 90,000 workers.
Originally, Ford owned 25.12 percent of his company's stock.