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 ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

Early life

Frederick Morrell Zeder was born on March 19, 1886, in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

, to Rudolph John Zeder. 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. He graduated from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1909 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Career

After graduating, Zeder worked as an apprentice at

Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a United States, U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various Industry (economics), industries. Its business lines included list of agricultural machinery, agricultural equipment, heavy equipment, construction equipment, electric ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. In 1910, he became an erecting engineer at the firm. Later in 1910, Zeder joined

E-M-F Company The E-M-F Company was an early American automobile manufacturer that produced automobiles from 1909 to 1912. The name E-M-F was gleaned from the initials of the three company founders: Barney Everitt (a custom auto-body builder from Detroit), Wi ...

and became a leader in the company's engineering laboratories. In 1913, Zeder joined

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...

as a consulting engineer and later became chief engineer. He left Studebaker in 1920. In 1921, he joined Skelton and Breer in forming the Zeder-Skelton-Breer Engineering Company, a partnership that would later be known as

. They were involved in the founding of the

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

, and were hand-picked by

Walter Chrysler Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, automotive industry executive, and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation. Childhood Chrysler ...

, then with Maxwell Motor Corporation, to come with him when he started the new company in 1923. He helped design the original Chrysler car in 1924. Zeder served as vice chairman of Chrysler's board of directors and vice president of engineering until his death. Zeder served as special consultant to the Chief of Army Ordnance in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1941, Zeder became president of the Detroit Area Council of

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. 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. He was a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

, the Engineering Society of Detroit, the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

and the American Society for Testing Materials.

Personal life

Zeder married Lucille Monroe in 1919. They had one son and three daughters, Fred M. Jr., Dorothy June, Priscilla Ann and Margaret Lucille. He lived at 17500 E. Jefferson in

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe is a group of five adjacent suburbs in the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area on the shore of Lake St. Clair. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe, Michiga ...

. Zeder died while on vacation on February 24, 1951, at St. Francis Hospital in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

. He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Awards

Zeder received a honorary master's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan in 1933. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1998.

References

External links

Biography

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeder, Frederick Morrell 1886 births 1951 deaths People from Bay City, Michigan Scientists from Detroit University of Michigan alumni American scientists American engineers Studebaker people Chrysler people 20th-century American scientists