Though he was just 49 at the time of his death in 1943, former company president and only son of founder Henry Ford, Edsel Ford left a lasting legacy on Ford Motor Company and on the public.
Edsel Ford died 80 years ago last month after a six-week battle with stomach cancer. All of Ford Motor Company was shut down, and a moment of silence was observed in conjunction with his funeral. Civic and industrial leaders, including President Franklin Roosevelt, wired their condolences to Henry and Clara Ford.
The New York Times said the following of Edsel Ford in an editorial upon his death: “From the time of his first association with Ford Motor Company, Edsel Ford was never willing to play the role of a rich man’s son. Instead, he learned the business from bumper to tank as Henry Ford wished. The whole country shares with him and the Ford family this loss of a fine American in the prime of a useful life.”
Edsel had worked his way up quickly after joining Ford Motor Company in 1912 as an apprentice and was elected secretary of the company three years later. By 1917, he was vice president, where he handled business-related responsibilities such as sales, purchasing, advertising and other routine matters. Within two years, though, he would be running the entire company as president, after Henry Ford resigned during a clash with other stockholders over plans to expand the company. In 1919, Edsel Ford took over the company solely owned by his family.
During his 25 years leading the company, Edsel Ford presided over many significant moments in its history. One of his greatest contributions came early in his tenure, when he was instrumental in Ford’s purchase of Lincoln in 1922. He was president of Lincoln beginning shortly after the acquisition until the time of his death. During that period, he prioritized design and styling and is credited with turning around the once-bankrupt company.
Regarding the Lincoln acquisition, Edsel famously said that while his father had made the Model T the most popular car in the world, he wanted to make the best car in the world, and he wanted to design and build cars that were as stylish as they were useful. That did not preclude him from steering the Ford brand during his tenure, though.
Under his direction, late-era Model Ts became curvier and featured smoother lines. Notably, the car that put the world on wheels was available in a variety of colors late in its nearly two-decade production run — a vast difference from the vehicle’s notorious black-only era. Edsel Ford was then responsible for the color, style and trim of the iconic Ford’s successor, the Model A, which was introduced in 1927. He also used his sway to convince his father to add a six-cylinder engine option as a companion to Ford’s popular V-8. Edsel is also credited with the addition of hydraulic brakes and spurring the development of safety glass after a friend was badly hurt in an automobile crash.
By the mid-1930s, Edsel Ford recognized the need for a medium-priced vehicle line to meet a market that was largely untapped by Ford Motor Company at the time, leading to the creation of the Mercury division in 1938. Led by his appreciation for aviation – Edsel notably gave his financial support to Admiral Richard Byrd’s pioneering flights over the North Pole in the 1920s – he sought to add another line to Ford Motor Company, the Tri-Motor airplane, with the purchase of Stout Metal Aircraft Company. But the new venture never fully got off the ground due to a confluence of factors, though nearly 200 of the planes were built.
Ford’s last significant project was overseeing Ford’s significant World War II effort, including the construction of the Willow Run plant, which featured a conveyor system for the mass production of bomber planes for the allied forces. Ford’s death came just as wartime production was reaching its peak.
Edsel and wife Eleanor resided in an Albert Kahn-designed estate at Gaukler Point in Grosse Pointe Shores, a Detroit suburb. Their home is now recognized as a National Historic Landmark and serves as a popular attraction. The couple had four children; one of them, Henry Ford II, became president of Ford Motor Company in 1945, following the resignation of founder Henry Ford.
While the Edsel vehicle line may be the most well-known object or program named in his honor, other memorials to Edsel Ford have included naming a portion of what is now I-94 in metro Detroit as the Edsel Ford Freeway in 1946. The throughfare had been created as a means to transport workers and large subassemblies to and from Dearborn and Willow Run.
A talented painter and patron of the arts, Edsel Ford his legacy also lives on at the Detroit Institute of Arts – to which he and Eleanor Ford donated many priceless works of art from around the world and supported through financial donations – where he commissioned famed artist Diego Rivera to create murals for the building’s courtyard. The Detroit Industry fresco panels are considered by some to be the best work of Rivera’s career.
A noted philanthropist, Edsel Ford also founded the Ford Foundation in 1936, leaving the bulk of his estate to the organization, though it is no longer associated with Ford Motor Company.
More recently, Ford’s influence on Lincoln was recognized in a 2022 celebration of the centennial of Lincoln Motor Company. The memorabilia prepared for the tour included a portrait of Edsel Ford, which was painted by Rivera.
“Edsel Ford is one of the most underappreciated figures in the automobile industry, as he was a titan of design and guided Ford Motor Company though numerous challenges,” Ford Archives and Heritage Brand Manager Ted Ryan said.
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