Frederick Perry Fish

Frederick Perry Fish (13 January 1855 – 6 November 1930) was an American lawyer and executive who served as president of American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation from 1901 to 1907. One of the leading patent attorneys of his age, representing such clients as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and The Wright Brothers, by the time of his death he was believed to have appeared in more patent cases at the Supreme Court than any other lawyer. He was the founder of the law firm now known as Fish & Richardson. Among his siblings were Nathaniel J. W. Fish, the mayor of Taunton, and engineer Charles Henry Fish.

Fish's paternal grandparents were Simeon Fish and Judith (née Rayder) Fish and his maternal grandparents were the Rev. Clark Perry and Mary Jarvis (née Stone) Perry.

Fish attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1878.

In 1906, Fish helped the Wright Brothers secure their patent on wing warping. In 1913, Fish helped them prevail over Glenn Curtiss in an infringement case involving the 1906 “Flying Machine” patent. Wilbur Wright's last known letter before his death was to Fish.

Volunteer work and legacy Fish served as vice president of the Bar Association of the City of Boston from 1909 to 1920, and president of the Massachusetts State Bar Association for the year 1919–20. He served on the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Governing Board of Radcliffe College. He was also an overseer of Harvard College, a trustee of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and chairman of the Massachusetts State Board of Education.

Firm partner William King Richardson wrote in his eulogy for Fish, "He was a great lawyer and a great scholar, but above all he was a great human being. Each of the thousands who came in contact with him during his extraordinarily active life is better for having known him. He radiated kindliness, sympathy and courage."

Personal life On April 7, 1880, Fish married Clara Perkins Livermore (1851–1914), a daughter of Leonard Jarvis Livermore, a minister, and Mary Ann Catherine (née Perkins) Livermore of Cambridge, Massachusetts. They had two children, Margaret A. Fish

Fish died at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on November 6, 1930.