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FedEx Corp. announced the death of Fred Smith, the entrepreneur who transformed the express service sector.

Memphis, Tennessee FedEx Corp. announced the death of Fred Smith, the entrepreneur who transformed the express service sector. He was eighty years old.

When FedEx first began operations in 1973, it was able to deliver papers and small packages faster than the post office. Smith, a veteran of the Marine Corps, managed the expansion of a corporation that integrated air and ground service over the course of the next 50 years. Because so many other businesses depend on it, it became something of an economic bellwether.

FedEx, a multinational logistics and transportation firm with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, ships 17 million packages per day on average. Smith continued to serve as executive chairman after resigning as CEO in 2022.

Smith, who graduated from Yale University in 1966, developed a delivery system based on coordinated air freight flights focused on a major hub, which he called the “hub and spokes” system, using a business theory he developed while still in college.

The organization has had a significant impact on the trend in American commerce and industry toward relying less on big warehouses and stockpiles and more on time-sensitive delivery.

Smith previously admitted to The Associated Press that he chose the name Federal Express because he wanted the business to appear significant and large, even though it was a start-up with an uncertain future.

Smith was attempting, but failing, to get a significant shipping contract with the Federal Reserve Bank at the time.

Initially, Federal Express flew packages to 25 destinations throughout the United States using 14 small planes based at Memphis International Airport.

Through a regional bus company and other commercial endeavors, Smith’s father, Frederick, amassed a modest fortune in Memphis. After graduating from college, Smith became a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marines. After two deployments in Vietnam during which he gained decorations for valor and battle injuries, he retired from the service in 1969 as a captain.

In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, he said that his Marine experience, not his Yale education, was the source of all he achieved while at FedEx.

It was difficult to get Federal Express off the ground. Since overnight shipments were new to American commerce, the corporation had to start with a fleet of aircraft and an interconnected airway system.

Despite being one of Memphis’ most well-known and influential residents, Smith tended to stay out of the limelight and focus on his career and family.

Smith had a brief appearance in the Tom Hanks film “Castaway” in 2000, despite having a low profile. A FedEx employee who became stuck on an island was the subject of the film.

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee said, “Memphis has lost its most important citizen, Fred Smith,” referring to Smith’s backing of the city’s zoo and the University of Memphis. Fred Smith was the visionary creator of FedEx, which is the backbone of our economy. Above all, however, he was a devoted citizen who really cared about our community.

In 2023, Smith consented to talk to AP about a contribution to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation to establish a new scholarship fund for the children of Navy service men pursuing STEM education, although he seldom made public the gifts he and his family made.