Frederick Morrell Zeder (March 19, 1886 – February 24, 1951) was an American scientist and engineer who was one of the Studebaker engineers known as The Three Musketeers.[1]
Frederick Morrell Zeder | |
|---|---|
 Zeder in 1922 | |
| Born | March 19, 1886 Bay City, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | February 24, 1951 (aged 64) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Holy Sepulchre Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse |
Lucille Monroe (m. 1919) |
| Children | 4 |
Early life
editFrederick Morrell Zeder was born on March 19, 1886, in Bay City, Michigan, to Rudolph John Zeder.[2][citation needed] At the age of eleven, Zeder worked at a box factory. He then worked as a railroad call boy, car checker and machinist apprentice. He attended Bay City High School.[2] He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1909 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.[2][3]
Career
editAfter graduating, Zeder worked as an apprentice at Allis-Chalmers in Milwaukee. In 1910, he became an erecting engineer at the firm.[2] Later in 1910, Zeder joined E-M-F Company and became a leader in the company's engineering laboratories.[2]
In 1913, Zeder joined Studebaker as a consulting engineer and later became chief engineer. He left Studebaker in 1920.[2][4] In 1921, he joined Skelton and Breer in forming the Zeder-Skelton-Breer Engineering Company, a partnership that would later be known as The Three Musketeers.[2][1] They were involved in the founding of the Chrysler Corporation, and were hand-picked by Walter Chrysler, then with Maxwell Motor Corporation, to come with him when he started the new company in 1923.[2][citation needed] He helped design the original Chrysler car in 1924.[5] Zeder served as vice chairman of Chrysler's board of directors and vice president of engineering until his death.[5]
Zeder served as special consultant to the Chief of Army Ordnance in World War II.[2] In 1941, Zeder became president of the Detroit Area Council of Boy Scouts of America. He served as director of the Grand Opera Society, director of the United Foundation and as a member of the state advisory board of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.[2] He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Engineering Society of Detroit, the Franklin Institute and the American Society for Testing Materials.[4]
Personal life
editZeder married Lucille Monroe in 1919. They had one son and three daughters, Fred M. Jr., Dorothy June, Priscilla Ann and Margaret Lucille.[2][4] He lived at 17500 E. Jefferson in Grosse Pointe.[2]
Zeder died while on vacation on February 24, 1951, at St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach.[5][2] He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.[6]
Awards
editZeder received a honorary master's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan in 1933.[2] He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1998.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "Looking Back At The Chrysler Airflow". HotCars. March 15, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Fred M. Zeder, 64, Dies in Miami Beach". Detroit Free Press. February 25, 1951. p. 12. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fred M. Zeder | DPL DAMS". digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c "F. M. Zeder, Car Designer, Dies At Beach". Miami Herald. February 25, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "F. M. Zeder Dies in Miami Beach". Detroit Free Press. February 25, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved June 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Final Rites Held for Fred Zeder". Detroit Free Press. March 1, 1951. p. 23. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "» Fred M. Zeder | Automotive Hall of Fame". www.automotivehalloffame.org. Retrieved June 19, 2023.