Early Life and Education
Born in Oneonta, New York, Sherman Fairchild was the only child of George Winthrop Fairchild (1854–1924) and Josephine Mills Sherman (1859–1924). His father was a Republican Congressman as well as a co-founder and the first Chairman of IBM. His mother was the daughter of William Sherman, of Davenport, Iowa.
His father died on December 31, 1924, and as an only child he inherited his father's multi-million-dollar estate. He also inherited his father's IBM stock, becoming IBM's largest individual stockholder until his death in 1971.
Known to be a particularly bright and naturally inquisitive child, Sherman Fairchild matriculated at Harvard University in 1915 where, in his freshman year, he invented the first synchronized camera shutter and flash. During these college years he also contracted tuberculosis and under the advice of his physician, moved to Arizona to recover in the drier climate. He then transferred to the University of Arizona, where he became increasingly interested in photography. He would later transfer to Columbia University in New York. Due to his ongoing medical problems, Fairchild did not earn a degree from any of these schools. Instead he pursued his desire to become an entrepreneur.
Having never been married or having any children, he spent his time exploring a variety of interests. Aside from maintaining his companies, he enjoyed architecture, cooking, jazz, dancing, philosophy, and tennis. He always kept an eye out for opportunities to create or improve upon existing technology or capabilities.
Read more about this topic: Sherman Fairchild
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early, life and/or education:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“Franklin said once in one of his inspired flights of malignity—
Early to bed and early to rise
Make a man healthy and wealth and wise.
As if it were any object to a boy to be healthy and wealthy and wise on such terms.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Films and gramophone records, music, books and buildings show clearly how vigorously a man’s life and work go on after his “death,” whether we feel it or not, whether we are aware of the individual names or not.... There is no such thing as death according to our view!”
—Martin Bormann (1900–1945)
“Individually, museums are fine institutions, dedicated to the high values of preservation, education and truth; collectively, their growth in numbers points to the imaginative death of this country.”
—Robert Hewison (b. 1943)