Industrialist Henry Ford (1863–1947) was born on this day in Dearborn, Michigan. The father of the automobile, he changed the world with the creation of assembly line production in 1913.

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits,” he once said.

The son of Irish immigrants, Ford was fascinated by how things worked. As a teenager, he tinkered with machines, encouraged by his mother who called him a "born mechanic."

Driven by the spirit of innovation, he founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 to build “a motorcar for the great multitude.” His Model T was simple, sturdy, and revolutionary — made with the best materials, by the best workers, using the simplest modern engineering.

His boldest innovation was the moving assembly line. By 1915, nearly 45% of all U.S. cars were Fords. “There is joy in work,” he said. “There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.”

The 1908 Model T sold for just $500 and gave millions access to mobility and independence. By 1927, over 15 million had been sold.

“Coming together is a beginning,” Ford said. “Keeping together is progress; working together is success.”