Re: Edsel Ford
By 1943, Henry Ford had become somewhat frail and rather ill tempered due to his physical and mental state after suffering several strokes. Edsel was making most of the company day to day business decisions due to the heavy load that WWII put on the business. The new B-24 plant at Willow Run and converting from cars to tanks and aircraft components was a feat of modern industrialization at the time. I think that situation would have had ill effects on even the strongest personalities. His stress level was on 78 speed at the time. Edsel had stomach ulcers and there may have even been something in the family genetics that caused his cancer. No one will really ever know for sure. It's a shame that the world was deprived of his genius so soon. Ford Motor Company would have evolved differently had he been around longer.
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