Comment / Fred Smith – the man who made the impossible, possible

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Fred Smith (11 Aug 1944 – 21 June 2025)

Just about five months after Federal Express (FedEx) began operations on 17 April 1973, the world was struck by the ’first oil shock’ spurred by the Yom Kippur War.

Under the stewardship of Marine Corps veteran Fred Smith (pictured below), FedEx from Memphis feared absolutely nothing.

Little did the relatively young Smith, then aged 29, know about what was around the corner and how its ambitious aircraft-delivery business, reaching just 25 cities in the ...