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Horace H. Rackham (June 27, 1858 – June 12, 1933)Genealogical data
/ref> was one of the original stockholders in the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
and a noted
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
.


Early life

Rackham was born in
Harrison, Michigan Harrison is a city in and county seat of Clare County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,150 at the 2020 census. The community was settled as early as 1877 and was named after William Henry Harrison. Harrison is near the ju ...
.Ross, Robert Budd; Catlin; George Byron, and Burton, Clarence Monroe
''Landmarks of Detroit: A History of the City''
Evening News Association, 1898, p. 197
He graduated from high school in
Leslie, Michigan Leslie is a city in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,851 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by Leslie Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Geography The city of Leslie lies just east of U ...
, in 1878. In 1879, he moved to
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, to work for Berry Brothers. In 1884, he began studying law under the employ of Adolph Sloman and was admitted to the Bar in 1885. The next year, he married Mary A. Horton of Fenton, Michigan. In 1894, he partnered with John W. Anderson to open a law firm. The partnership was very successful, counting among their clients Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit coal dealer.


Shareholder of Ford

In 1903, at Malcomson's advice,
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that m ...
hired Rackham and Anderson to draw up papers incorporating the Ford Motor Company.Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
, Horace and Mary Rackham
Ford (and Malcomson) also convinced the partners to buy stock in the company. Rackham scraped together $5,000 by borrowing some money and selling some real estate parcels.Merz, Charles
''And Then Came Ford''
READ BOOKS, 2007, , p.74
With great uncertainty and against the advice of others, (the president of the Michigan Savings Bank infamously told Rackham, "The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad,"The City of Huntington Woods, Historic District Study Committe
''Preliminary Report''
, Rackham Golf Course Historic District Proposal "Rackham Historic District", presented July 18, 2006, pp. 3-7
) Rackham bought 50 shares of Ford stock (from a total of 890 shares);
, John Chamberlain, ''Staten Island Auto Echoes''
Anderson bought another 50. In addition to Ford, Anderson, and Rackham, seven other people were awarded stock in the company, including Malcomson, James J. Couzens (future mayor of Detroit and Michigan Senator) and
John Francis Dodge John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 – January 14, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company. Biography Dodge was born in Niles, Michigan, where his father ran a foundry and machine ...
and
Horace Elgin Dodge Horace Elgin Dodge Sr. (May 17, 1868 – December 10, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company. Early years and business He was born in Niles, Michigan, on May 17, 1868.Burton, Clarence M., ...
(who later founded the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company). At the first meeting of stockholders, Rackham was elected chairman.Bryan, Ford R.
"The Birth of Ford Motor Company"
retrieved fro

, Dec 12, 2007.
Ford Motor Company was wildly successful, providing substantial dividends, and in 1913, Rackham quit his law practice. In 1919,
Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
, acting for his father, Henry, purchased Rackham's stock for 12.5 million dollars. Rackham's acquired wealth had little effect on his and Mary's lifestyle. Because Rackham was always cautious with his finances and leery of speculative nature of the stock market, the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The Financial contagion, ...
had little effect on his fortune. Rackham spent the rest of his life as a philanthropist, giving money to children's charities, the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and other causes. At the time of his death, Rackham's wealth was valued at an estimated $16.5 million.


Philanthropy

Horace Rackham and his wife Mary supported the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
by donating his law library, sponsoring anthropological expeditions, and underwriting creative arts fellowships. Most significantly, when he died in 1933, Rackham left $100,000 in his will expressly to support graduate student loans. The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the university is named after him, as is the Rackham Building, built in 1938, in which the school is housed.Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
Building History
In addition, the Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building in Detroit, intended for use by the Extension Service of the University of Michigan and the Engineering Society of Detroit,The Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building
Mary Johanna Byrnes, ''The Modern,'' 2005.
was built in 1940 using money willed to the University.
Rackham Educational Memorial Building
The Rackhams were also the patrons of the 1938 Rackham School of Special Education on the
Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United St ...
campus in
Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, an ...
. After the death of Mary Rackham in 1947, the Horace H. and Mary A. Rackham Fund was created. The fund was to be used expressly "for such benevolent, charitable, educational, scientific, religious and public purposes ... will promote the health, welfare, happiness, education, training and development of men, women and children, particularly the sick, aged, young, erring, poor, crippled, helpless, handicapped, unfortunate and underprivileged, regardless of race, color, religion or station."


Detroit Zoo

From 1924 to 1928, Rackham was the first president of the Detroit Zoological Commission, which negotiated with the city for support for the zoo.Detroit 1701
Rackham Fountain
In 1924, Rackham purchased acres of land in what is now
Huntington Woods, Michigan Huntington Woods is a city in Oakland County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit. The population was 6,238 at the 2010 census. Huntington Woods is situated along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1) and ...
, near land owned by the Detroit Zoological Society. Through his friend and Detroit mayor
James Couzens James J. Couzens (August 26, 1872October 22, 1936) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. He served as mayor of Detroit (1919–1922) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1922–1936). Prior to entering politics he served as vice ...
, Rackham anonymously promised to donate the land to Detroit if voters would approve financing for the
Detroit Zoo The Detroit Zoo is a zoo located in Royal Oak, Michigan, spanning 125 acres and housing more than 2,000 animals and more than 245 different species. It was the first U.S. zoo to feature bar-less habitats, and is regarded to be an international ...
.Detroit Zoological Society
, history
A millage was approved, and Rackham followed through by giving of his purchase to the Zoo for use as a parking lot; the Horace H. Rackham Memorial Fountain at the zoo bears his name. The remaining acreage was given to the city of Detroit, explicitly for use as a public golf course. In 1925 the Rackham Golf Course, reportedly the first 18-hole course constructed in Michigan, opened to the public


Legacy

A
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of Central American lizard, '' Xenosaurus rackhami'', is named in his honor.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Rackham", p. 215).


Images

File:Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies (March 2008).jpg, The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies


Notes


References

* Ross, Robert Budd, Catlin, George Byron, Burton, Clarence Monroe
of Detroit: A History of the City''
Evening News Association, 1898, p. 197. * Merz, Charles
''And Then Came Ford''
Read Books, 2004, , p. 74. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rackham, Horace American manufacturing businesspeople American philanthropists 1858 births 1933 deaths People from Clare County, Michigan