Henry Ford

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, and the inventor of the assembly line technique of mass production. By designing the first automobile that middle-class Americans could afford, he transformed the automobile from an expensive luxury into an affordable mode of transportation that profoundly influenced the landscape of the twentieth century.

The Ford Model T automobile, which he introduced, revolutionized transportation and American industry. He rose to become one of the world's richest and most well-known people as the owner of Ford Motor Company. He is credited with "Fordism," the mass production of low-cost goods combined with high worker wages. Ford had a global vision, and he saw consumerism as the key to achieving peace. His unwavering commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in numerous technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that established dealerships in major cities across North America and on six continents. Ford bequeathed the majority of his vast fortune to the Ford Foundation and arranged for his family to retain permanent control of it.

Among the most important historical figures in America, Ford was also well-known for his pacifism during World War I, and for later promoting antisemitic content, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and the book The International Jew.