Charles T. Fisher
Encyclopedia
Charles Thomas Fisher was a Catholic American
businessman and an automotive
pioneer.
Born in Norwalk, Ohio
, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys and four girls. At the turn of the 20th century, eldest son Fred was the first to move to Detroit where an uncle, Albert Fisher
, had established Standard Wagon Works during the latter part of the 1880s. A year later Charles Fisher joined his brother as an employee at the C. R. Wilson Company, a manufacturer of horse-drawn carriage bodies who were just beginning to construct bodies for the automible makers.
With the fledgling automobile business about to emerge as a major industry, together with their uncle Albert, on July 23, 1908 Charles and Fred Fisher founded the Fisher Body Company
. Soon, they brought their five younger male siblings into the business. Highly successful, the Fishers expanded their operation into Canada
, setting up a plant in Walkerville, Ontario
and by 1914 their company had grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of auto bodies.
In 1919, the Fisher brothers sold sixty percent of their company to General Motors Corporation
(GM). In 1926, Fisher Body Company became a subsidiary division of General Motors when the brothers sold their remaining forty percent and Charles Fisher was appointed a GM Vice-President.
Charles Fisher became involved in the breeding
and racing of Thoroughbred
horses. In 1928 he purchased the famous Dixiana Farm
near Lexington, Kentucky
which remained in his family for approximately 60 years. Notable among the horses raced by Charles Fisher were:
Charles Fisher was also a yachting
enthusiast and owned several power yachts
including the 153 foot "Saramar III" built in 1930 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company
in Bay City, Michigan
.
Charles Fisher and his wife Sarah had five children. Son Charles Jr. became president of the National Bank of Detroit
and a director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
during World War II
.
In 1995, Charles T. Fisher was posthumously inducted in the Automotive Hall of Fame
in Dearborn, Michigan
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and an automotive
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
pioneer.
Born in Norwalk, Ohio
Norwalk, Ohio
At the 2000 census, there were 16,238 people, 6,377 households and 4,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,950.3 per square mile . There were 6,687 housing units at an average density of 803.1 per square mile...
, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys and four girls. At the turn of the 20th century, eldest son Fred was the first to move to Detroit where an uncle, Albert Fisher
Albert Fisher
Albert Fisher wasa pioneer in the burgeoning auto industry in Detroit. He was the uncle of the seven Fisher brothers, founders of Fisher Body. Albert Fisher built some of the first bodies for many automobiles and trucks. He built the first touring car body for Henry Ford...
, had established Standard Wagon Works during the latter part of the 1880s. A year later Charles Fisher joined his brother as an employee at the C. R. Wilson Company, a manufacturer of horse-drawn carriage bodies who were just beginning to construct bodies for the automible makers.
With the fledgling automobile business about to emerge as a major industry, together with their uncle Albert, on July 23, 1908 Charles and Fred Fisher founded the Fisher Body Company
Fisher Body
Fisher Body is an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan; it is now an operating division of General Motors Company...
. Soon, they brought their five younger male siblings into the business. Highly successful, the Fishers expanded their operation into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, setting up a plant in Walkerville, Ontario
Walkerville, Ontario
The former town of Walkerville Ontario, Canada is now a heritage precinct of Windsor Ontario. Incorporated in 1890, the town was founded by Hiram Walker, owner and producer of Canadian Club Whisky. Walker planned it as a 'model town’ ) that would be the envy of both the region and the continent...
and by 1914 their company had grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of auto bodies.
In 1919, the Fisher brothers sold sixty percent of their company to General Motors Corporation
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
(GM). In 1926, Fisher Body Company became a subsidiary division of General Motors when the brothers sold their remaining forty percent and Charles Fisher was appointed a GM Vice-President.
Thoroughbred horse racing
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
and racing of Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horses. In 1928 he purchased the famous Dixiana Farm
Dixiana Farm
Dixiana Farm, founded in 1877, is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky.-Barak G. Thomas:Formerly known as Hamilton Stud, Dixiana, owned by Barak G. Thomas, a Confederate soldier in the Civil War and later Sheriff of Fayette County, Kentucky, took the breeding world by...
near Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
which remained in his family for approximately 60 years. Notable among the horses raced by Charles Fisher were:
- Mata HariMata Hari (horse)Mata Hari was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse bred and owned by Charles T. Fisher, a Detroit automobile body manufacturer who raced under the Dixiana Stable banner named for his Dixiana Farm in Lexington, Kentucky....
- wins include the 1933 Arlington Lassie Stakes, Kentucky Jockey Club StakesKentucky Jockey Club StakesThe Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky...
, Breeders' FuturityLane's End Breeders' FuturityThe Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is run at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the...
and in 1934 the Illinois DerbyIllinois DerbyThe Illinois Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in early April each year. First run in 1923, the Derby takes place at Hawthorne Race Course located in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, just west of Chicago...
and Illinois Oaks. Considered the U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly of 1933 and Champion Three Year Old Filly of 1934 - Sirocco - beat GallahadionGallahadionGallahadion was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the 1940 winner of the Kentucky Derby. A son of the Champion sire Sir Gallahad III, his damsire was U.S. Horse of the Year Reigh Count who won the 1928 edition of the Kentucky Derby. Owned by Ethel V...
and BimelechBimelechBimelech was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Triple Crown races, was twice named American horse of the year, and is ranked #84 among U.S. racehorses of the 20th century. After retiring to stud, he sired 30 stakes winners and his daughters produced 50 stakes winners.-Early...
in winning the 1940 Arlington ClassicArlington ClassicThe Arlington Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-old horses held annually at the end of June at Arlington Park race track near Chicago, Illinois...
. - Amber Light - winner of the 1943 Louisiana DerbyLouisiana DerbyThe Louisiana Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Usually run in early March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race 11/8 miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it currently offers a purse of...
- Sub Fleet - won 1951 Kentucky Jockey Club StakesKentucky Jockey Club StakesThe Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky...
, 2nd in the 1952 Kentucky Derby, won the 1953 Hawthorne Gold Cup HandicapHawthorne Gold Cup HandicapThe Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses run at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois each year. The Hawthorne Gold Cup trophy has always been made of solid gold....
Charles Fisher was also a yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
enthusiast and owned several power yachts
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
including the 153 foot "Saramar III" built in 1930 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company
Defoe Shipbuilding Company
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J...
in Bay City, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
.
Charles Fisher and his wife Sarah had five children. Son Charles Jr. became president of the National Bank of Detroit
National Bank of Detroit
The National Bank of Detroit , later renamed NBD Bank, was a bank that operated mostly in the Midwestern United States. Following its merger with First National Bank of Chicago, the bank was ultimately acquired and merged into Bank One, at which point the NBD name was discontinued...
and a director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1995, Charles T. Fisher was posthumously inducted in the Automotive Hall of Fame
Automotive Hall of Fame
The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum and hall of fame covering automotive innovations.-Location:Located in the metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, the museum shares a parking lot with The Henry Ford.-External links:*...
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
.