Auto industry / Business & brands
Henry Ford II
1917–1987 · automotive executive, president and chairman of Ford Motor Company
Henry Ford's grandson rebuilt a failing Ford Motor Company after 1945 and, after the 1967 unrest, pushed the Renaissance Center into Detroit's skyline.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 70- Also known as
- Hank the Deuce · HF2
- Detroit years
- 1917–1987
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Detroit to Edsel and Eleanor Ford, he grew up in the city and at the family's Grosse Pointe Shores estate. The Navy released him in 1943 after his father's death, and in 1945, at 28, he took over a company that was losing money and run by his grandfather's enforcer Harry Bennett. He fired Bennett, brought in GM veteran Ernest Breech and the postwar 'Whiz Kids', and modernized management. Ford went public in 1956, launched the Mustang in 1964 and won Le Mans in 1966. After the 1967 uprising he helped organize business support for New Detroit and Detroit Renaissance, and he led the push for the Renaissance Center on the riverfront, which opened in 1977. He fired Lee Iacocca in 1978, retired as chairman in 1980, and died of pneumonia at Henry Ford Hospital in 1987.
Highlights
- President of Ford 1945–1960, CEO 1947–1979, chairman 1960–1980
- Took Ford Motor Company public in 1956
- Mustang launched in 1964; Ford GT40 won Le Mans in 1966
- Driving force behind Detroit's Renaissance Center, opened 1977
- Ford's headquarters campus in Dearborn is named the Henry Ford II World Center
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 4
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1956–1980
Ford World Headquarters (Glass House)
Closed · 1956–2025
The glass-walled headquarters opened under his leadership; Ford moved to a new headquarters nearby in 2025 and plans to demolish it.
Founded · 1971–1977
Renaissance Center
The riverfront tower complex he championed after 1967. GM moved out in 2026; two of its towers are slated to come down.
Lived here · 1929–1940s
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
His parents' lakeside estate, where he spent his youth; now a museum open to visitors.
Related place · 1987
Henry Ford Hospital
The hospital founded by his grandfather, where he died in 1987.