Law / Business & brands
Horace Rackham
1858–1933 · lawyer, original Ford Motor Company shareholder, philanthropist
Detroit lawyer who drew up Ford Motor Company's incorporation papers, bought 50 shares against his banker's advice, and gave his fortune to the zoo, a golf course and education.
- Born
Harrison Township, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 74- Birth name
- Horace Hatcher Rackham
- Also known as
- Horace H. Rackham
- Detroit years
- 1879–1933
- Field
- Law, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Rackham was born in Harrison Township in Macomb County and moved to Detroit in 1879, working at the Berry Brothers varnish firm before becoming a lawyer. His law partner John W. Anderson and he were counsel to coal dealer Alexander Malcomson, and in 1903 Henry Ford hired them to draft the papers incorporating Ford Motor Company. Persuaded to invest, Rackham scraped together $5,000 by borrowing and selling land, despite a banker's warning that the automobile was only a fad, and received 50 shares. Ford's dividends made him wealthy; he quit law in 1913 and devoted himself to philanthropy. As first president of the Detroit Zoological Commission from 1924 he quietly bought land in Huntington Woods, gave part for the zoo and the rest to the city for the Rackham Golf Course, which opened in 1925. His estate funded the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan and the Rackham Educational Memorial Building in Detroit's Cultural Center.
Highlights
- Drafted Ford Motor Company's incorporation papers in 1903
- Original shareholder with 50 shares bought for $5,000
- First president of the Detroit Zoological Commission (1924–1928)
- Donated land for the Rackham Golf Course (opened 1925)
- His estate endowed the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Founded · 1925
Rackham Golf Course
Public Donald Ross–designed course on land he gave to Detroit, beside the Detroit Zoo.
Memorial
Detroit Zoo
The zoo he helped create; its Rackham Memorial Fountain bears his name.
Memorial
Rackham Educational Memorial Building
Cultural Center building funded from his estate for University of Michigan extension work and the Engineering Society of Detroit.