Engineering

In 1891, Ford became an engineer with Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. During this time he met Thomas A. Edison and became very close friends. In 1893 he was promoted to Chief Engineer which gave him time to work on his internal combustion engines. In 1896 he had built his own self propelled Quadricycle, which only had two forward speeds and no reverse.

It was his first gasoline powered car and ran at a top speed of 20 mph.  He sold two of them for $200 each, and later bought one of them back for $65.  The positive response to the Quadricycle enabled Ford to get financing to found the Ford Motor Company in 1903.

He was only one of several that helped this nation become a nation of motorists.

Source: Patent Pending Blog