Henry Ford

Henry Ford
Species	Human
First appearance	Mario's Time Machine (1993)

“Hello, Mario. I’m Henry Ford, business executive. I make these automobiles. Isn’t this a beauty? It’s going to change our lives forever! Everybody will soon own one. You want to buy it?”

—Henry Ford, Mario's Time Machine

Henry Ford was a business magnate and the founder of the Ford Motor Company who created innovations in the automobile industry by promoting and developing the assembly line, and, under his leadership, the company made the first automobiles that could be easily afforded by the average person. He also corresponded with George Washington Carver through various letters, and the two occasionally met each other, with Carver even traveling to Dearborn to meet Ford despite his old age, and likewise with Ford traveling to Tuskegee. In Mario's Time Machine, he meets Mario after the latter travels back in time to Tuskegee in 1915.

History

Mario's Time Machine

According to Mario's Time Machine, Henry Ford was in Tuskegee circa 1915 (even though Carver and Ford only corresponded with each other since 1934) when he meets Mario. Mario is first directed to meet Ford by Booker T. Washington, who also asks Mario to return a Tire to Ford that he had been testing with his lab (despite Washington and Ford having never met in real life). Mario later introduces himself to Ford, and he responds by introducing himself as well. He also mentions his career in automobiles and asks Mario if he wants to buy the one nearby. Mario says that he does not have any money on him now, but Ford tells him that ideas can be money. He then mentions how George Washington Carver's ideas involving peanuts are worth a considerable amount of money (despite Carver not turning a profit himself on his creations), especially considering how Carver has found over 300 uses for them. Mario asks what kind of uses he has found, and Ford names peanut ice cream as one of his creations before giving Mario some Ice Cream to try. Mario mentions the Crank Handle in his possession, asking if it belongs to him, but Ford says that, while he does not recognize it, he asks Mario how much he wants for it. However, he immediately tells Mario to forget that, as he needs to run but his car happens to have a flat tire. Mario then gives him the Tire, and Ford thanks him while also commenting that it is made from the goldenrod that Carver was testing. Mario says that he does not know much about Carver, and Ford details his past, including how he was born a slave but was freed by Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. He then studied hard to obtain his position, but he only makes $1500 a month. Mario asks how come Carver is not rich despite his numerous inventions, and Ford mentions that Carver donates a lot to the people around him, and he is not particularly interested in business. He also says that he plans on funding Carver and his efforts, especially since Carver is fostering cooperation "between all people, all races and all levels business" (it is worth mentioning that Ford published pamphlets that specifically blame the Jewish people for many of the world's atrocities).