Thomas edison henry ford friendship

This week in 1899, Henry Ford quit a well-paying job as a chief engineer to start up his own automobile company.

His employer was none other than Thomas Edison, prolific inventor and founder of Edison Illuminating Company.

How did thomas edison and henry ford meet

Edison was sorry to see Ford go, but he encouraged the younger man to pursue his dream. It would become the start of a lifelong friendship.

Edison was already known as America’s greatest inventor when Henry Ford took a job as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit in 1891.

Edison had patented the light bulb, the phonograph, the electric generator, a system for electric lighting, and much more. He was a big deal. Edison Illuminating built and operated electrical generating stations in several cities, including New York, Boston, and a number of towns in Pennsylvania.

Ford quickly showed his skill for machine work.

The son of immigrant Irish farmers living in Michigan, he knew that he