Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism. In 1911 he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Model T and other automobiles.
Portrait by Fred Hartsook, c. 1919
Henry Ford in 1888 (aged 25)
Henry Ford with Thomas Edison and Harvey S. Firestone. Fort Myers, Florida, February 11, 1929.
Ford assembly line, 1913
A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the creation or ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or services are widely consumed. Such individuals have been known by different terms throughout history, such as robber barons, captains of industry, moguls, oligarchs, plutocrats, or tai-pans.
Samuel Slater
James Finlayson
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Henry J. Heinz