Coker Fifield Clarkson

Coker Fifield Clarkson (May 11, 1870 – June 4, 1930) was an American automotive lawyer and editor. He was secretary of the mechanical section and assistant general manager of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. He was a founder and served as secretary, general manager, and editor-in-chief of the Society of Automotive Engineers from 1910 to his death in 1930. He was a member of the Automotive Products Section of the War Industries Board, the Council of National Defense, and was secretary of the truck committee of the United States Quartermaster Department during World War I.

Early life Coker Fifield Clarkson was born on May 11, 1870, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Anna (née Howell) and James S. Clarkson. His grandfather was Iowa politician and agricultural journalist Coker F. Clarkson. At the age of 14, he attended the University of Iowa, but did not graduate. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888. He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1894. He graduated from Harvard Law School with a Bachelor of Laws in 1896. He was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1896. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, the Pow Wow Law Club, and the Hasty Pudding Club.

Career Clarkson practiced law with Alexander & Magill of Philadelphia from 1896 to 1898. He assisted in the installation of an underground telephone system in Philadelphia and was associated with the Standard Telephone Company. He specialized in technical and automotive matters. He worked with Henry Souther in standardizing spark plugs, wheels, screw threads, and other steel specifications. The mechanical section disbanded following Henry Ford's defeat of the Selden patent in 1910.

In May 1910, Clarkson was hired by Howard E. Coffin and Henry Souther as secretary, general manager, and editor-in-chief of the Society of Automobile Engineers (later the Society of Automotive Engineers) (SAE), the organization that took over the engineering work at ALAM starting in 1910. He was a founder of the society. He was credited with developing automotive design as a "skilled branch of creative science" and under his supervision, the SAE standards division was created. They had one daughter, Olivia Miller. In 1908, he lived on Broadway and 110th Street in New York City. He lived at Sleepy Hollow Farm in Scarborough, New York.

Clarkson died of heart disease at his home in Scarborough on June 4, 1930.