Henry Ford faces a gantlet, not a gauntlet

"Forced to run a gantlet of newspaper reporters, Henry Ford is pictured leaving the White House today with Maj. Henry M. Cunningham, manager of the Alexandria, Virginia branch of the Ford Motor Co., after a luncheon and conference with President Franklin Roosevelt." So reads the caption of this photo from the U.S. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. (The image ID is hec 24508.)

Remember, you run a gantlet (a form of punishment in which the accused runs between two rows of men who beat him with sticks) but you throw down a gauntlet (an old-time glove worn with armor, and tossed to signify a challenge). It's refreshing to know that the Library of Congress has this exactly right.

But back to Henry Ford: he's the skinny gent holding his hat to his chest, not the larger guy to the left. . The date was April 27, 1938. Henry Ford was born in 1863, so he turned 75 the year this photo was taken.

See our biography of Henry Ford