I am reading a book on James Garfield. He mentions in his diary that at the Philadelphia Centennial in 1878 that William Ford, father of Henry Ford, displayed an internal combustion engine he invented.I would like to have more information and pictures if you know of any.
That is interesting.
I hadn't heard of that before.
I don't think William was there except to look at the machine.
The book, Destiny of the Republic says:
Is this the book?
http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Republic-Madness-Medicine-President/dp/0767929713
According to the book, William Ford travelled to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. However, the sentence structure is confusing and, depending on the reader, could be interpreted to mean that he specifically attended just to see an internal combustion engine:
https://books.google.com/books?id=Gss_INMTZQIC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=%22william+ford %22+%22james+garfield%22+internal+combustion+engine&source=bl&ots=AX2fo2be2F&sig =XBFKSP7w-ktk0riMOs7g4Drf7HM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cZiaVd7yIYPooASCjpvoDg&ved=0CCUQ6AEwA Q#v=onepage&q=%22william%20ford%22%20%22james%20garfield%22%20internal%20combust ion%20engine&f=false
I found another reference in a different book that William Ford did go to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.
https://books.google.com/books?id=h3i7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=%22henry+ford %22+Philadelphia+Centennial+exhibition&source=bl&ots=gJb3i9enDr&sig=b-y4TF9MS3ND GBenrf7TaysVpBo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EpmaVbLKBYL8oQSGt6og&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=% 22henry%20ford%22%20Philadelphia%20Centennial%20exhibition&f=false
The idea that the main reason he attended was to specifically see an internal combustion engine is a little far fetched.
A story about him inventing an internal combustion engine and displaying it there is pure baloney.
I looked at the wiki article on Henry's father:
https://goo.gl/tB17X4
Looks like it needs some improvements..
Did he really retire and move to Sacramento, CA in 1879 when Henry was only 16?
As far as I remember, Henry returned to the family farm in 1882 and worked there with improvements for a few years - I suppose his father was still there then?
Anyone can edit Wikipedia and in seldom read articles unsourced info can last a long time.
Wikipedia is roughly as accurate as something found written on the wall in the bathroom of a Texaco station. Perhaps not even that accurate.
You mean those "For a good time...." messages at Texaco aren't legit?
I am reading the same book. I may have gotten it wrong, it looks like William was there to see the engine not exhibit it.
Wikipedia is a great source for info on most things - the article on Henry himself is very frequently monitored by people who knows the sources, so any attempts to introduce anything wrong there won't last more than a minute.
It's only seldom read articles like the one about William Ford where dubious info may last longer. The best features of most wiki articles are the references that leads to reputable sources where further info can be found.
Maybe someone here knows any reputable source on William Ford's correct bio that can be introduced in the wiki article to improve it..?
One reference already linked from "answer.com" seems dubious and doesn't work. The last reference to "United States Census, 1900, Detroit city, Wayne, Michigan, page 6A" seems to actually mean that he was still living in Detroit when the census was taken in 1900, so maybe the Sacramento move idea can be removed right away, given the census reference?
I doubt he travelled from Dearborn to Philadelphia specifically to see the engine. That is probably a "fact" that was fabricated by the author.
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 was the first World's Fair held in the United States. It was a major event/attraction attended by millions of people and he probably went because he just wanted to attend.
Frankly, whether or not he visited the exposition has nothing to do with James Garfield.
I went to school with a James Garwood and a Chris Ford. Both had vehicles
propelled by gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines. This was also in the
70's.
Any connection ?
The question begs to be answered. Who exhibited the internal combustion engine. The fact that William went to Philadelphia to see the engine is in James Garfield's diary.
How would James Garfield even know William Ford?
You indicated that you are reading the book by Candice Millard. You could very easily contact her via her Facebook page or Twitter account and ask her where she got the piece of information that William Ford's main reason to visit the exposition was to see an internal combustion engine.
There is plenty of information on the Centennial Exposition. If you did some research, you could probably figure out who exhibited the engine.
If William took young Henry we proabley would have read about it?? What i think most of us read about William was that he was not impressed with some of Henry's tinkering?? The model T was made to run on ethenol because it's on tv!!! Nope i think it's either a fabrication or bs!! Bud in Wheeler,Mi.
Nearly 10 million people attended the Centennial Exposition.
More than one book on Henry Ford mentions William Ford attended - I did some casual internet searches and found more references in Google books.
However, there appears to be no real reason for Candice Millard to mention in a biography of James Garfield that William Ford attended the exposition other than name dropping Henry Ford. In other words, there is no connection between James Garfield and William Ford other than they both visited the exposition. William Ford is not relevant to the life story of Garfield.
Erik,Can you tell me which printed books?? Bud.
If you do a casual search in Google books you can click on the individual results and read the passages that indicate that William Ford attended.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22henry+ford%22+centennial+exposition&btnG=Sear ch+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1#tbm=bks&q=%22henry+ford%22+%22centennial+exposition%22
Here is just one example:
https://books.google.com/books?id=h3i7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=%22henry+ford %22+Philadelphia+Centennial+exhibition&source=bl&ots=gJb3i9enDr&sig=b-y4TF9MS3ND GBenrf7TaysVpBo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EpmaVbLKBYL8oQSGt6og&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=% 22henry%20ford%22%20Philadelphia%20Centennial%20exhibition&f=false
Note: the above search will also yield non-relevant results.
Thank you Erik,i stand corrected!! Bud.
William Ford attended the Exposition to see the Corliss Engine.
Read more here. http://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2010/05/the-corliss-engine/
The Corliss Engine is a steam engine, not internal combustion.
I doubt that the reason that William Ford travelled from Dearborn to Philadelphia was because he wanted to see an engine. I think that particular detail is something that Candice Millard made up.
It was a major event, held over several months and attended by nearly 10 million people. He probably just wanted to attend the world's fair. Who knows what he actually saw once he was there?
When William Ford attended the Fair in Philadelphia he bought a bag of fresh roasted peanuts from Jimmy Carter's grandfather who was there promoting peanut farming, He used the outhouse next to the West gate parking area because he drank too much lemon-aid and then walked 6 blocks to the train station so he could get back home in time to wack Henry upside his head for taking his watch apart again. I can't understand why you guys don't believe what is printed on the internet and in books. It's right there in black and white.
How old are you Dennis?
I think I read somewhere Henry Ford said all history is bunk