Sherman Fairchild

Sherman Mills Fairchild (April 7, 1896 – March 28, 1971) was an American businessman and investor who founded over 70 companies, including Fairchild Aviation, Fairchild Industries, and Fairchild Camera and Instrument. Fairchild made significant contributions to the aviation industry and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1979. His Semiconductor Division of Fairchild Camera played a defining role in Silicon Valley. He held over 30 patents for products ranging from the silicon semiconductor to the 8-mm home sound motion-picture camera. Fairchild was responsible for inventing the first synchronized camera shutter and flash as well as developing technologies for aerial cameras that were later used on the Apollo Missions.

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.

As an only child he inherited his father's multimillion-dollar estate after his father died on December 31, 1924. He also inherited his father's IBM stock, becoming IBM's largest individual stockholder until his death in 1971. During his college years he contracted tuberculosis and, under the advice of his physician, moved to Arizona to take advantage of the dry climate to aid in his recovery. While there, he enrolled at the University of Arizona, where he became increasingly interested in photography. 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.

Aerial photography Aerial Age Nov. 7 1921, magazine cover with aerial photo of Columbia University shot by W. L. Hamilton for Fairchild Aerial Camera Corp.

In 1917, after being rejected from the military because of his poor health, Fairchild was determined to find another way to support the World War I effort. To accommodate this growing commercial demand for aerial surveys, Fairchild established Fairchild Aerial Surveys in the United States. In 1965 Fairchild sold Fairchild Aerial Surveys to Aero Services, Inc., which decided to keep only the more recent photographs and dispose of the others. A former Fairchild employee learned of this plan and was able to get the older material to three Southern California Institutions, Whittier College, UCLA, and California State University at Northridge, where he knew professors who would put the material to good use. The University of California Santa Barbara acquired the collection in December, 2012.

Lunar photography

Fairchild Corporation developed the Fairchild Lunar Mapping Camera (also known as the Metric Camera) for NASA. The camera was carried on Apollo 15, 16, and 17 and took photos from lunar orbit throughout the missions. Over 7,000 frames were captured by the Lunar Mapping Cameras, covering approximately 20% of the lunar surface.

Airplane manufacturing

Fairchild soon realized that existing planes were not suitable for the type of maneuvering and extreme conditions that were often encountered during aerial photography. In 1925, he formed the Fairchild Aviation Corporation in Long Island, New York, to build the Fairchild FC-1, an aircraft specifically designed to provide accurate aerial mapping and surveying. Fairchild was a dominant force in the aviation industry during this period, becoming one of the nation's largest manufacturers of commercial aircraft. Between 1927 and 1930, the company delivered over 300 of the FC-2, the production version of the FC-1 aerial mapping aircraft The aircraft could hold up to five passengers and could also be equipped with float or ski landing gear. The plant began manufacturing new aircraft, including the Fairchild Model 22 (1931), Model 24 (1932), Model 95 (1934 – USAAC XC-31), Model 91, Jungle Clipper (1935), Model 45 (1935) and Model 46 (1937).

Personal life Having never been married or had any children, Fairchild spent his time exploring a variety of interests. Aside from maintaining his companies, he enjoyed architecture, cooking, jazz, dancing, philosophy, and tennis.