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Another cherished myth is that Henry Ford invented the automobile. He didn't, but this time you can't go to the Patent Office for confirmation of that, at least as far as the internal combustion engine part of it was concerned. He improved on an engine that was, he claimed, partially functional and because he made it completely functional enough for a horseless carriage, he deserved his own original patent on the thing. He was denied several times, but persistance paid off.
The whole trouble with that, though, is that in England, Daimler already had a functional internal combustion engine and was commissioned by the royals to make the official royal transportation of the day. Ford's actual claim to fame is the invention of assembly line manufacturing, which was seen as an actual threat to British pursuits in this arena, and this sparked the birth of the Bentley company.
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