Mr. Smith Goes to Memphis
The concept for Federal Express originated in a graduate paper written by Yale student Fred Smith. Smith wrote about the routing system that other airfreight companies were then using. Contrary to what many think, Smith didn’t “invent” the airfreight industry, he simply moved it to a more effective level. Federal Express originally operated out of Little Rock, Arkansas, but the first packages were flown out of Memphis in 1973. According to the company website, 186 packages were delivered to 25 cities that first night. That number now exceeds 3 million every night.
The company moved to Memphis, due in part to both its geographical location and the fact that the airport rarely closed because of weather. The economic impact ...
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