Folks Of Interest Today in history -April 7, 1947

Amen Brother! HRP

 

I want to note that I wasn't the one who deleted a post or used the word prick...

That Henry Ford had flaws is without question. But he was one of three men who changed America from a mostly agrarian economy into an industrial powerhouse. The other two were George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla.

 

Steve, your post was fine. HRP

 

An interesting side bar...
I find it hilarious that Clara Ford drove a Detroit Electric because the Model T pedals were too confusing.

 

My Forty Years with Ford by Charles Sorensen,
The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's Ten-Year Road Trip by Jeff Guinn,
and
The Aresenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime
are all good reads relevant to this thread.

 

I was the one who posted the offending message that skewered the local hero, and NO I didn't delete it. Don't know who did.

 

If you didn't then the administrator or one of the moderators did, they ether lock or delete a thread if it starts going off the rails or it starts to look like drama.
fortunately they just deleted a post and left the thread open.

 

With all do respect Steve, I can't understand omitting Edison & Co. from the list. His contributions to electricity (distribution, although getting DC current wrong), lighting (carbonized element), audio (recording), visual (motion pictures) etc did more to change the industrial & economic landscape of America, than Westinghouse and Tesla combined.
Thomas Edison - Wikipedia

 

No I did not see his first post HRP. Henry was well known to be a tyrant though. Still I have a picture of him in my shop as a tribute to his Engineering skills, which I finished up being in my 53 year working career. I wish I was 1/4 as skilled as was he.

 

I posted to support 29Phonebooth's statement and to "dilute the koolaid" that a lot of people like to drink. I didn't realize the thread was a homage exercise. However there is no doubt that he did advance the auto industry.

I suppose we should all be at Clara was more stubborn than Henry! LOL

 

I didn’t see anything wrong with it factually. Most of our wealthy industrial forefathers had a dark side. It’s the winners that write the history books. You have to dig to get the full story and sometimes it can be unsettling.

 

While Edison made myriad contributions to technical progress in multiple fields, it's impossible to underestimate the importance of the AC power grid championed by Westinghouse and Tesla. Edison's DC grid would have required generating stations every mile or so, the fatal flaw that finally killed it. Edison also played dirty during this competition, among other things lying to the press/public in his attempt to discredit Westinghouse and Tesla, claiming his DC power was 'safer' and electrocuting hapless animals with AC to 'prove' it. This finally came out, tarnishing his reputation and resulting in Edison's financial backers removing his name from the company he founded, the Edison General Electric Company which became just 'General Electric'.

Ford and Edison were very much alike which is why they got along so well. Both were essentially 'tinkerers', with Ford's genius being in fully developing designs/processes to reduce costs. Edison cast a wider net as you pointed out. But both men's flaw was they didn't like to recognize or reward talent in others or admit if they were wrong. Both were shameless self-promoters, which occasionally came back and bit them. Of the two, Edison was better at it. Tesla worked for Edison for a time, but quit when he realized that Edison had no interest in his ideas. Tesla was a true visionary, but had difficulty promoting his ideas and himself. Luckily, George Westinghouse recognized his genius.

Maybe to put it all in perspective, most of Edison's inventions were replaced by better designs from others as time marched on. But most of Nikola Tesla's ideas are still used today.

 

We are both educated and well versed on all 3 men, so I consider your opinion quite valid. I must say I have more Edison inspired products in my home...although they are all dependent on Tesla/Westinghouse technology

 

Meek and reserved men rarely acheive great things. It takes a unique kind of stubborn, pig-headed determination and an unwavering belief that everything you do is justified and "right" to truly leave an indelible mark in history. All sentiment aside, Henry Ford certainly did that.

 

Edison was good at buying others ideas and polishing them to practicality. E.G. The incandescent lightbulb developed by a couple of Canadians who could not find backers tonpeefwct the design.

 

No different than Henry Ford. Henry wasn't building/designing the cars...He was paying his engineers/designers to polish automotive ideas.
Whether those ideas originated at FoMoCo, or "borrowed" from somewhere else didn't seem to matter.

 

Was Henry Ford a self made man ?
Or did he come from money?

regardless of the “ less then perfect” things ford did in his life, his contributions to bettering humanity far out weigh any negative aspects.




I kid ... I kid

 

LMAO

LMAO. That's just wrong...on SO MAY levels

 

Edison is credited with the first “practical” light bulb, not the first light bulb which is how it is often misquoted. Him and his lab came up with the carbon filament that didn’t immediately burn out.


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It was tungsten , wasn’t it?







Bones

 

Henry Ford was the most influential man of the 20th century! Was he perfect? Hell , no! Was he human? Yes. He made the most impact on improving the working man life that any other man. Your eight-hour work day, plus a good wage, plus vacations and that boat in your garage are all thanks to Henry Ford!








Bones

 

The Edison patent was for carbon filament, tungsten was later.


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He died in April and I was born in June the same year. Maybe that explains my love for the Deuce.


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If Ford hadn't been who he was, done what he did, I wouldn't be enjoying the benefits of his efforts today. Apparently he was flawed, as we all are, but without him- NO DEUCE ROADSTERS, NO MODEL 40's-(my personal favorite), NO FORTY COUPES, and so many others. Well done Henry. R.I.P.