Happy 150th Birthday Henry Ford - Take A Look Back At The Automaker's Glory Days

When Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 — 150 years ago today — travel was largely confined to trains and horses.

Ford revolutionized the auto industry in 1913, when he opened the first moving automobile assembly line to build the Model T. He also doubled wages to $5 per day, setting a new standard for the time.

Today, the company is in the midst of a product renaissance. The cars look and drive great, and the automaker is coming back from years of lackluster product — it smashed earnings expectations in its most recent quarter, and is finding success with hybrid models.

But what were the early days like for the company?

Ford was founded in 1903 and the groundbreaking Model T was released in 1908. In the 1910s, Ford cars dominated the roads. Thanks to Henry Ford's stroke of genius, the assembly line, the Model T became the least expensive way to ditch that horse.