July 30th marked the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford's birth.
Events and declarations are happening across the US and around the world. Although not, perhaps, the most politically significant, “Henry Ford Day” in Michigan did mark the birth of an automotive revolutionary who transformed global mobility and lubrication along with it.
Henry Ford and revolutionary Model T Image: Ford |
The US state is home of the Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn headquarters which held celebrations in honour of the man whose innovative ideas revolutionised transportation and brought cars to the masses.
Commemorative cupcakes were delivered by a food truck in Downtown Washington, DC and on Capitol Hill – very much in the spirit of Henry Ford.
Some of the global celebration events included:
- Dealers in 21 Asia Pacific markets launched Ford Heritage month, transforming showrooms into exhibitions on Ford’s rich history
- Ford of Germany marked the occasion with a series of five road rallies that celebrated Ford’s numerous automotive breakthroughs over the last 110 years
- More than 4,000 people attended community events held by Ford in Romania
- In Great Britain, celebrations were capped by the unveiling of a restored statue of Henry Ford at the company’s UK Tech Centre
Celebrations are set to last for the next 12 months in honour of a man whose mass market automobile transformed agricultural economies and created prosperous industrial and urban markets. He introduced a revolutionary 'high minimum' and is even credited by some with creating a middle class in America.
Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947, aged 83. In 1999, Forbes magazine named him “Businessman of the Century.”