90 Miles From Tyranny : October 7, 1913: Henry Ford's Moving assembly line debuts at Ford factory

"You Can Have Any Color You'd Like As Long As It's Black"

For the first time, Henry Ford’s entire Highland Park, Michigan automobile factory is run on a continuously moving assembly line when the chassis—the automobile’s frame—is assembled using the revolutionary industrial technique. A motor and rope pulled the chassis past workers and parts on the factory floor, cutting the man-hours required to complete one “Model T.” Within a year, further assembly line improvements reduced the time required to 93 man-minutes. The staggering increase in productivity effected by Ford’s use of the moving assembly line allowed him to drastically reduce the cost of the Model T, thereby accomplishing his dream of making the car affordable to ordinary consumers.

In introducing the Model T in October 1908, Henry Ford proclaimed, “I will build a motor car for the great multitude.” Before then, the decade-old automobile industry generally marketed its vehicles to only the richest Americans, because of the high cost of producing the machines. Ford’s Model T was the first automobile designed to serve the needs of middle-class citizens: It was durable, economical, and easy to operate and maintain. Still, with a debut price of $850, the Model T was out of the reach of most Americans. The Ford Motor Company understood that to lower unit cost it had to increase productivity. The method by which this was accomplished transformed industry forever.

More This Day In History:

April 24 1915: The Armenian Genocide Begins

April 25, 1792: The Guillotine Is Used For The First Time

April 29, 1429: Joan Of Arc Arrives In Orleans

April 30, 1803: The Louisiana Purchase Is Completed

May 4, 1905: Construction Begins On The Panama Canal
May 5, 1818: Karl Marx Is Born
May 10, 1869: The Transcontinental Railroad Is Completed

May 14th, 1804: Lewis And Clark Begin Their Expedition Of The American West

May 18, 1925: Communist Genocidal Dictator Pol Pot Is Born - This Day In History

May 21, 1927: Charles Lindbergh Completes His Transatlantic Flight
This Day In History: May 23, 1934: Bonnie And Clyde Are Killed

May 26, 1896: Nicholas II Is Crowned Czar Of Russia
This Day In History - May 30, 1431: Joan Of Arc Is Burned At The Stake
June 4, 1989: Do You Remember The Tiananmen Square Massacre?
June 8, 1967 - The USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli Air Force jet fighters and Navy torpedo boats in international waters June 15, 1215: King John Signs The Magna Carta
June 19, 1953: Julius And Ethel Rosenberg Are Executed For Espionage
June 21, 1788: The U.S. Constitution Is Ratified
June 22, 1633: Galileo Galilei Is Forced To Recant His Support Of The Copernican Theory
June 25, 1950: The Korean War Begins