Frederic Latta Smith (February 6, 1870 – August 6, 1954) was a pioneer of the automobile business. He was one of the founders of the

Olds Motor Works Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it prod ...

in 1899 and of

General Motors Corporation The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

in 1908. He was also the president of the

Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (ALAM), began as the Manufacturer's Mutual Association (MMA), an organization originally formed to challenge the litigation of the fledgling automobile industry by George B. Selden and the Ele ...

in its early years.

Early years

Smith was born in 1870 in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. He was the son of copper and lumber magnate, Samuel Latta Smith (1830–1917), and Eliza Cordelia (Seager) Smith. He attended Lansing High School and the

Michigan Military Academy The Michigan Military Academy, also known as M.M.A., was an all-boys military prep school in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It was founded in 1877 by J. Sumner Rogers and closed in 1908 due to bankruptcy. Some journalists h ...

, graduating from MMA in 1886. Smith enrolled at 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 ...

in October 1886. While attending Michigan, he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and was the starting quarterback for the 1888 Michigan Wolverines football team. He also won the light-weight wrestling championship medal. He was also a member of the

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a ...

fraternity at Michigan. Smith's cousin,

Henry Rogers Seager Henry Rogers Seager (July 21, 1870 – August 23, 1930, Kiev, Russia) was an American economist, and Professor of Political Economy at Columbia University, who served as president of the American Association for Labor Legislation. Inspired by t ...

, was also a member of the same fraternity at Michigan and later became a noted economist. Smith graduated from Michigan in 1890 and subsequently studied at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

from 1891 to 1892.

Automobile business

In 1892, Smith became employed as an agent for land interests in Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

. As of 1897, he maintained his office at 1013 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. In August 1897,

Ransom E. Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

, founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in

. In 1899, Smith was one of the founders of the new Olds Motor Works. Smith together with his father and Henry Russel provided the financial backing for the new venture, which was moved from Lansing to Detroit. Smith's father became the company's president, with Ransom Olds as general manager and Frederic Smith as secretary and treasurer. In 1901, the Olds Motor Works released the Curved Dash Oldsmobile. It was this car, rather than

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 mi ...

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

, that was the first mass-produced, low-priced American motor vehicle. In 1901, a fire destroyed the company's factory, and a new factory was quickly built to replace it. In 1902, Frederic Smith took charge of the newly built Olds Motor Works factory. He gave responsibility for sales to Roy Chapin, another promising young automotive pioneer from Lansing. Chapin led the way in developing a network of sales franchises for Olds around the country. At one point, Chapin's mother wrote to Frederic Smith and complained that her son had been given too many responsibilities for too little pay. Smith responded by telling Mrs. Chapin that her son was "the brightest and most promising of all the young managers at Olds." In the infancy of the automobile industry in Detroit, the carmakers formed the

("ALAM"), an organization that one historian has called "a monopolistic combine." The members pooled their patent rights (including the Selden patent) and used their "patent pool" to permit or deny the right to manufacture petroleum-based automobiles. Frederic Smith became the president of ALAM and in 1903 sought to use the power of ALAM to try to deny

membership in the organization. A special subcommittee with Smith as its sole member was formed to review Ford's admission to ALAM. Ford's plan to assemble one inexpensive model at a low price point was a threat to Olds' low-end vehicles. Accordingly, Smith told Ford that he must "dismantle, disband, and depart Detroit." In a personal meeting with Ford, Smith told him to "abandon all hope of becoming an automobile manufacturer." The confrontation led to years of litigation between Ford and ALAM. Frederic Smith and Ransom Olds clashed frequently. In 1903, Smith removed Olds from the position of general manager and took the position for himself.Dunbar, Willis F., and May, George S. (1995). ''Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State'' (3rd ed.), p. 424. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. . The Olds Motor Works was bought by

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

in 1908. Smith has been credited, along with

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

, as "one of the founders of General Motors Corp."

Later years

Smith moved to

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

, in 1941. In August 1954, he died at his home at 603 N. Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills. He was survived by his wife, Norah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Frederic L. 1870 births 1954 deaths 19th-century players of American football American automotive pioneers American founders of automobile manufacturers Michigan Wolverines football players Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Sportspeople from Lansing, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan