July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947
Inventor and capitalist businessman, Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line in his Highland Park, Michigan factory on December 1, 1913. The time to produce a Model T was reduced from slightly over twelve hours to 93 minutes.
Ford, paying significantly higher wages than competitors and reducing the workday to eight hours, was labeled a socialist while reinventing capitalism.
In November 1915 he organized the "Ford Peace Ship," a group of pacificist who sailed to Europe to attempt mediation. In 1918, he lost a campaign for the Senate.
His editorials in The Dearborn Independent only confirmed the label of "ignorant idealist" given him by the Chicago Tribune.
By 1940, Ford had amassed a fortune in excess of one billion dollars, much of which he gave to charity through his philanthropic foundations.
Raised: November 28,1894
Palestine Lodge No. 357, Detroit, MI
Member: Zion Lodge No. 1