Editing Henry Ford II

{{Short description|American businessman (1917–1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Henry Ford II
| image        = Henry Ford II in Nederland om zijn jacht te bekijken. Hier op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 914-9054 (cropped).jpg
| caption      = Ford in 1963
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1917|09|04}}
| birth_place  = [[Detroit, Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1987|09|29|1917|09|04}}
| death_place  = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| education    = [[Yale University]] (did not graduate)
| occupation   = Automobile executive
| employer     = [[Ford Motor Company]] (1943–1982)
| title        = {{ubil|[[President (corporate title)|President]] of Ford Motor Company (1945–1960)|[[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Ford Motor Company (1945–1979)|[[Chairman]] of Ford Motor Company (1960–1980)}}
| spouse       = {{ubl|{{marriage|Anne McDonnell|1940|1964|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Maria Cristina Vettore]]|1965|1976|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|Kathleen DuRoss|1980|1987}}}}
| children     = 3, including [[Edsel Ford II|Edsel II]]
| father       = [[Edsel Ford]]
}}

'''Henry Ford II''' (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), commonly known as '''Hank the Deuce''', was an American businessman in the [[automotive industry]]. He was the oldest son of [[Edsel Ford|Edsel Ford I]] and oldest grandson of [[Henry Ford]]. He served as president of the [[Ford Motor Company]] from 1945 to 1960, [[chief executive officer]] (CEO) from 1947 to 1979, and chairman of the board of directors from 1960 to 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ford.com/en/heritage/fordFamily/default.htm |title=Henry Ford |access-date=February 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213105146/http://www.ford.com/en/heritage/fordFamily/default.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Under his leadership, Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation in 1956. From 1943 to 1950, he also served as president of the [[Ford Foundation]].

==Early life and education==
Henry Ford II was born in Detroit, Michigan, to [[Eleanor Clay Ford]] and [[Edsel Ford]] on September 4, 1917. He, brothers [[Benson Ford|Benson]] and [[William Clay Ford Sr.|William]], and sister [[Josephine Clay Ford|Josephine]], grew up amid affluence. He graduated from [[The Hotchkiss School]] in 1936.<ref name=AlumniAchievements>{{cite web |url=http://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/Accomplishments.aspx |title=Alumni Award: PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS |publisher=The Hotchkiss School |year=2004 |access-date=March 8, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310133421/http://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/Accomplishments.aspx |archive-date=March 10, 2015 }}</ref> He attended [[Yale University]] — where he served on the business staff of ''[[The Yale Record]]'',<ref>Alexander, Cecil A. (May–June 2004) "The Pranks of Yesteryear". ''The Harvard Magazine''. Cambridge: Harvard.</ref> the campus humor magazine — but left in 1940 before graduation.<ref name=LATimesObituary>{{cite web| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-30-mn-7220-story.html| title= Henry Ford II Dies; Led Auto Firm 35 Years| last=Thackery| first=Ted Jr.| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]| date= September 30, 1987| access-date=July 26, 2015}}</ref> During this time, he became a member of the [[Zeta Psi]] fraternity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notable Zetes |url=https://zetapsi.org/about/notable-zetes/ |access-date=February 1, 2024 |website=Zeta Psi Fraternity |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Career==
When his father [[Edsel Ford|Edsel]], president of Ford, died of cancer in May 1943 (during [[World War II]]), Henry Ford II was serving in the [[United States Navy|US Navy]] and unable immediately to inherit the presidency of the family-owned business. The elderly and ailing [[Henry Ford|Henry Ford I]], company founder, decided to re-assume the presidency, though mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and considered no longer fit for the presidency position by most of the company's directors. For the previous 20 years, although he had long been without any official executive title, the elder Ford had maintained ''de facto'' control over the company; the board and the management had never seriously defied him, and this moment was not different. The directors elected him, and he served until the end of the war.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sorensen|1956|pp=325–326}}</ref> During this period, the company began to decline, losing over $10&nbsp;million a month ({{Inflation|US|10000000|1940|fmt=eq|r=-6}}{{inflation-fn|US}}). The administration of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] considered a government acquisition of the company to ensure continued war production, but the idea never progressed to execution.

Henry Ford II left the Navy in July 1943<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 25, 2024 |title=Henry Ford II {{!}} Biography & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Ford-II |access-date=February 1, 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> and joined the company's management a few weeks later. He assumed presidency of the business on September 21, 1945. Since it had been assumed that Edsel Ford would continue in his capacity as president of the company for much longer than turned out to be the case, Henry Ford II had by then received little preparation for the position. He inherited the company during a chaotic period; its European factories had suffered a great deal of damage during the war, the company was losing money, and domestic sales were in decline.

Henry Ford II immediately adopted an aggressive management style. One of his first acts as company president was to place [[John Bugas]] in charge of company management, dismissing much of his grandfather's inner circle, especially [[Harry Bennett]], chief of the Ford Service Department, whom the elder Ford had hired in 1921 to oversee security at the vast Ford Rouge Plant complex, and nearly two decades later had become a lightning rod in efforts to prevent [[unionization]] of the Ford labor force, by violent means if necessary. Next, acknowledging his inexperience, Henry II hired several seasoned executives to support him. He hired former [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] executives [[Ernest Breech]] and Lewis Crusoe away from the [[Bendix Corporation]]. Breech was to serve in the coming years as the young Ford's business mentor, and the Breech–Crusoe team would form the core of Ford's business expertise, offering much-needed experience.

Additionally, Ford hired ten young up-and-comers, known as the "[[Whiz Kids (Ford)|Whiz Kids]]". These ten, gleaned from an [[Army Air Forces]] statistical team, Ford envisioned as giving the company the ability to innovate and stay current. Two of them, [[Arjay Miller]] and [[Robert McNamara]], went on to serve as presidents of Ford themselves. A third member, [[J. Edward Lundy]], served in key financial roles for several decades and helped to establish Ford Finance's position as a major worldwide financial operation.  As a team, the "Whiz Kids" are probably best remembered as the design team for the [[1949 Ford]], which they took from concept to production in 19 months, and which re-established Ford as a formidable automotive company. It was reported that 100,000 orders for this car were taken the day it was introduced to the market.

Ford became president and CEO of [[Ford Motor Company]] in 1945. In 1956, the company became a publicly traded corporation and dedicated its new [[Ford World Headquarters|world headquarters building]]. During his term as CEO of Ford, he lived in [[Grosse Pointe]], [[Michigan]]. On July 13, 1960, he was elected chairman before resigning as president on November 9, 1960. He would resign as CEO on October 1, 1979, and as chairman on March 13, 1980.<ref name='ford-chairmanship'>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67932073/henry-ford-ii-gives-up-chairmanship-at/ |title=Henry Ford II gives up chairmanship at Ford |date=March 14, 1980 |newspaper=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |page=7D |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=January 18, 2021}}</ref> His nephew, [[William Clay Ford Jr.]] would later assume these positions after 20 years of non-Ford family management of the company. During this interim, the family's interests were represented on the board by Henry's younger brother [[William Clay Ford Sr.]], as well as Henry's son [[Edsel Ford II]] and his nephew William Clay Ford Jr.

During the early 1960s Ford engaged in lengthy negotiations with [[Enzo Ferrari]] to buy [[Ferrari]], with a view to expanding Ford's presence in motorsport in general and at the [[Le Mans 24 Hours]] in particular. However, negotiations collapsed due to disputes over control of Ferrari's [[Scuderia Ferrari]] racing division. The collapse of the deal led him to launch the [[Ford GT40]] project, intended to end Ferrari's dominance at Le Mans (the Italian marque won the race six consecutive times from 1960 to 1965). In 1966, after two difficult years in 1964 and 1965, the GT40 Mark IIs locked out the podium at both the [[Daytona 24 Hours]] and the [[1966 12 Hours of Sebring|Sebring 12 Hours]] before taking the first of four consecutive wins at [[1966 24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redbull.com/uk/en/motorsports/stories/1331777719573/ford-gt40-heroes-of-motorsport |title=Legends: Ford GT40 |last1=Stuart |first1=Greg |date=February 19, 2016 |website=[[Red Bull]]|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>

[[File:MaxFisher.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Henry Ford II (right) with [[Max Fisher]] (center) and [[John Bugas]] at the latter's Wyoming ranch]]
In the late 1960s, Ford became personally involved in the development of the [[Lincoln Continental Mark III]]. He gave his enthusiastic approval for both the final exterior and interior designs. The result was a Ford Motor Company flagship that single-handedly made Lincoln profitable and spawned a three-decade market rivalry between the [[Lincoln Mark series]] and Cadillac's [[Cadillac Eldorado#Eighth generation (1967–1970)|Eldorado]] series.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/lincoln-continental-mark-iii-iv-v/ | title=Mark of Success: The Lincoln Continental Mark Series|website=Ate Up With Motor |date=September 12, 2009|access-date=July 24, 2024 }}</ref> During this time, Ford also reformed the company's European operations, merging the previously separate (and competing) [[Ford of Britain|British]] and [[Ford Germany|German]] subsidiaries into a single [[Ford of Europe]] with a common product line and merged manufacturing operations.  During the 1970s, Ford of Europe expanded substantially, with new factories in [[Saarlouis Body & Assembly|Saarlouis]] and [[Ford Valencia Body and Assembly|Valencia]], the latter becoming one of Ford's biggest plants outside the US.

In 1973–74, as it became clear that the U.S. automobile market would begin to favor smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]'s then-President [[Lee Iacocca]] was highly interested in buying [[powertrain]]s from [[Honda Motor Company]] as a way to minimize the cost of developing a small Ford car for the North American market, such as a modified version of [[Ford of Europe]]'s [[Ford Fiesta]]. The plan was rejected by Henry Ford II, who said, "No car with my name on the hood is going to have a Jap engine inside."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Iacocca |first=Lee |title=Iacocca: an autobiography |last2=Novak |first2=William |date=1986 |publisher=Bantam |isbn=978-0-553-25147-0 |location=Toronto u.a}}</ref> Although the Ford Motor Company had been selling a Mazda compact pickup truck as the Ford Courier since late 1971, Ford did not like the idea of flagship North American passenger car models moving in that direction. Ford Motor Company did go on to adapt to the era in which Japanese, German, and American participation in a globalized automobile industry became tightly integrated. For example, Ford's relationship with [[Mazda]] was well developed even before the end of Henry Ford II's period of influence. However, in Iacocca's view, it lagged several years behind GM and Chrysler, due to Henry Ford II's unappealable influence, before others led it forward despite his resistance.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Henry Ford II's management and management style caused the company's fortunes to fluctuate in more ways than one. For example, he allowed the offering of [[public stock]] in 1956, the IPO raising $650&nbsp;million for the company ({{Inflation|US|650000000|1956|fmt=eq|r=-8}}{{inflation-fn|US}}); but the "experimental car" program instituted during his tenure, the [[Edsel|"Edsel"]], cost the company almost half that. Likewise, Henry Ford II hired in 1964 the creative Lee Iacocca, who was fundamental to the success of the [[Ford Mustang]], but fired him due to personal disputes in 1978. (On the break in their relationship, Iacocca quoted Ford as saying, "Sometimes you just don't like somebody." Iacocca later retorted, "If a guy is over 25 percent a jerk, he's in trouble. And Henry was 95 percent."<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Bart |date=July 2, 2019 |title=Auto industry icon Lee Iacocca dies at 94. He helped launch the Ford Mustang and saved Chrysler from bankruptcy. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/2019/07/02/f9abc080-da34-11e0-9dca-a4d231dfde50_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref>)

Henry Ford II formally retired from all positions at Ford Motor Company on October 1, 1982, upon reaching the company's mandatory retirement age of 65, but remained the ultimate source of authority at Ford until his death in 1987.

==Awards and achievements==
* 1969, awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] from President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
* 1983, inducted into the [[Automotive Hall of Fame]]

==Personal life==
Henry Ford II was married three times:
* Anne McDonnell (1919<ref>Social Security Death Index; Ford:  The Men and the Machine (Little, Brown & Co., pub.), c. 1986 by Robert Lacey, First Edition; New York State Census, 1925; Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (Guide-books, by James A. Bridenstine, Genealogy, p. 101, chart)</ref>–1996), a daughter of James Francis McDonnell.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book| title=Ford: The Men and the Machine| url=https://archive.org/details/fordmenmachin00lace| url-access=registration| publisher=Little, Brown & Co.| year=1986| first=Robert| last=Lacey| edition=First| page=[https://archive.org/details/fordmenmachin00lace/page/101 101]| isbn=9780316511667}}</ref> They married in 1940 and divorced in 1964. The Fords had three children including [[Edsel Ford II]]<ref>{{cite news| title=Anne Ford Johnson, 76, Dies; Influenced Fashion and Arts| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/31/nyregion/anne-ford-johnson-76-dies-influenced-fashion-and-arts.html| last=Nemy| first=Enid| date=March 31, 1996| work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
* [[Cristina Ford|Maria Cristina Vettore]] (1929–2008), formerly wife of Robin Willoughby Merivale Austin, a Canadian in the British Royal Navy; she and Ford married in New York City in 1965 and divorced in 1980.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name=house>{{cite book| title=Edsel & Eleanor Ford House| first=James A.| last=Bridenstine| page=101| date=February 1989| publisher=Wayne State University Press}}</ref>
* Kathleen DuRoss (born Kathleen Roberta King, 1940 – 2020),<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{Citation | author = Karen Bouffard| title = Kathleen DuRoss Ford, widow of Henry Ford II, dies at 80 | newspaper = The Detroit News|  date = May 9, 2020 | url = https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/05/09/kathleen-duross-ford-widow-henry-ford-ii-dies-80/3104647001/ |  access-date = May 11, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200511155402/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/05/09/kathleen-duross-ford-widow-henry-ford-ii-dies-80/3104647001/ | archive-date = May 11, 2020}}</ref> widow of L. David DuRoss<ref>1940 U.S. Federal Census</ref> (died 1959);<ref>Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Provo, Utah, U.S.A., Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006), www.ancestry.com, Database online, records for L. David DuRoss</ref> she and Ford were married in Carson City, Nevada, 1980. By this marriage, Ford had two stepdaughters.

Ford died of [[pneumonia]] in Detroit at [[Henry Ford Hospital]] on September 29, 1987, at age 70.  After a private funeral service at [[Christ Church Grosse Pointe]], his remains were cremated and the ashes scattered.<ref name=lat100>{{cite news| title=100 Close Relatives, Friends at Rites for Henry Ford II| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-02-mn-7753-story.html| date=October 2, 1987| work=Los Angeles Times| agency=[[United Press International]]| access-date=August 9, 2017}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
* The Henry Ford II World Center, the official title of the [[Ford World Headquarters]] in [[Dearborn, Michigan]]
* The Henry Ford II Honors Program, the official honors program of [[Henry Ford College]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Henry Ford II Honors Program|url=https://www.hfcc.edu/academics/programs/honors-program|access-date=September 11, 2021|website=Henry Ford College|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Henry Ford II High School]], in [[Sterling Heights, Michigan]], is named for him

==Filmography==
* ''[[The Ford 50th Anniversary Show]]'' (1953) – Broadcast live on CBS and NBC and called both "a landmark in television" and "a milestone in the cultural life of the '50s".<ref name=Shales>{{cite news|title=Ford's 50th anniversary show was milestone of '50s culture|newspaper=Palm Beach Daily News|date=December 26, 1993|page=B3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59934494/fords-50th-anniversary-show-was/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
* ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'' (1965) – Extra at the Nassau Casino (uncredited)

==In popular culture==
Henry Ford II is portrayed by [[Tracy Letts]] in the 2019 film ''[[Ford v Ferrari]]'' (released under the title "Le Mans '66" in some parts of Europe).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/james-mangold-next-film-ford-ferrari-logan-1202687686/ |title=James Mangold to Direct Ford vs. Ferrari Film as 'Logan' Follow-Up |work=Variety |date=February 5, 2018 |access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref>

He shows up in a few scenes in the 2002 movie ''Monday Night Mayhem''. Footage of him appears in the documentary television series ''The Cars that Built America''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7252092/|title = The Cars That Made America|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref>

==See also==
{{wikiquote}}
* [[Ford family tree]]
* [[Ford Foundation]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Brinkley, Douglas. (2003) Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress.  New York: Viking Press.
* Lacey, Robert. (1986) Ford: The Men and the Machine. Boston: Little, Brown.
* Nevins, Allan and Frank Ernest Hill (1962)  Ford: Decline and Rebirth 1933–1962.  New York: Scribners.
* {{Sorensen1956}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.archives.arc.95999|description="Longines Chronoscope with Henry II Ford (SIC)"}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/005384}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Charles E. Sorensen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Vice president#In business|Executive Vice-President]] of [[Ford Motor Company]]
|years=April 10, 1944 – July 1, 1946<ref>the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide "1949 Ford" September 24, 2007.
HowStuffWorks.com. https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1949-ford.htm. Retrieved July 13, 2019</ref> }}
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{{s-ttl|title=CEO of the [[Ford Motor Company]]
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{{s-aft|after=[[Philip Caldwell]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Chairperson#Public corporations|Chairman]] of the [[Ford Motor Company]]
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{{s-end}}

{{Henry Ford}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Henry II}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:American chief executives in the automobile industry]]
[[Category:American people of Belgian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Detroit]]
[[Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Michigan]]
[[Category:Ford executives]]
[[Category:Family of Henry Ford]]
[[Category:Hotchkiss School alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Michigan]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]