Did Henry Ford Invent The Car Or The Assembly Line?
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Many people seem to believe that Henry Ford invented the automobile which I don’t think he did, whilst many others seem to think that he invented assembly line and not the automobile, which I believe might be correct.
So which did he invent, the car or the assembly line?
There were so called steam cars which predate the ones using an internal combustion automobile which are presumably being talked about here.
On July 10, 1883 the United State Patent Office issued a patent to a Mr. George A. Long for a gasoline-fired-steam-propelled, vehicle and this same vehicle now resides in the Smithsonian’s collection and it was Long’s second and only patented automobile.
Long’s first vehicle was apparently already running in 1875 although no known photographs exist.
* And even Long’s vehicles weren’t the first automobiles with steam engines but they were the first to use gasoline to heat water into steam.
It was Karl Benz (1844-1929) of Germany though who was granted the 1st automobile patent, # DRP No. 37435 in January 29, 1886 (which is two years after Long’s U.S. issued patent), and it is he who is considered to have invented the first real gasoline automobile that was powered by an internal combustion engine, and it had three wheels, a four cycle engine and a single unit chassis.
Henry Ford founded his company in 1903 and he started with the Model A so he came on the scent almost two decades after the first automobiles were patented.
According to something I saw recently and have since researched further the first production line was invented at the Garret & Sons ‘Long Shop’ in Leiston, Suffolk, UK in 1852.
It wasn’t a moving production line as per Fords but they started with nothing but components at one end of the Long Shop and completed portable steam engines came out the other end. The components were fabricated on-site on the uppoer floor of the shop.
Thanks for the info Witchy
I’d think that you were a guy because you’re interested in cars, but the name Witchy sounds like a lady with a black hat.
Kind of interesting that the first known production line was called the ‘Long Shop’ (which is understandable) and the first guy guy to get a patent in the US was called, George A. Long
Nice coincidence! I’m a bloke, yes, otherwise I’d be touring with the freak shows as a bearded lady
big-thoughts wrapped it up.
Ford didn’t even come close to inventing the car.
George Long did and he did it 20 years before Ford arrived on the scene.
I have serious doubts as to whether the invention of the car was a good thing though.
Pollution; the death of villages and their stores; people traveling hours to and from work etc.
Henry DID invent the assembly line not a automobile because that is so true and everyone knows it!