Eugene F. McDonald
| Eugene F. McDonald | |
|---|---|
Eugene F. McDonald Jr (Nicknamed "The Commander") - Founder and Chief Executive of Zenith Radio Corporation from 1923–1958
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| Born |
March 11, 1886 Syracuse, New York |
| Died | May 15, 1958 Chicago, Illinois |
| Other names | The Commander |
| Occupation | Founder and CEO of Zenith Radio Corporation |
| Known for | Marketed the first portable multiband radio and the first tv remote control. Yachtsman, detailed management style, and commitment to quality of Zenith Radio Corporation products. |
Eugene F. McDonald (1886–1958) founded Zenith Radio in 1921, a major American radio and electronics manufacturer for most of the twentieth century.
Eugene F. McDonald Jr. was born March 11, 1886 in Syracuse, New York, the son of Frazier McDonald and Betty May Thompson McDonald. He earned his first money while a schoolboy by reading electric meters. School did not appeal to McDonald, and at the end of his sophomore year in high school he left school to take a factory job with the Franklin Automobile Company.
Moving to Chicago in 1904, he became an automobile salesman with the Franklin Auto Company and, as a publicity stunt, once drove a car up the steps of the General Logan Monument in Grant Park—with a photographer present and a policeman there to arrest him. He paid the policeman $10 for the arrest. In 1904, he began working for the company in Syracuse. He quickly rose in the sales and promotion areas and made a name for himself. In 1910, he moved back to Chicago to join a speculative business of a friend of his who wished to manufacture an automobile self-starter. The business did not succeed and McDonald lost his investment.
In 1911, he was in partnership in Detroit selling used cars, and by the end of 1912 had begun a credit finance company for the purchase of new and used cars, a commodity that had previously not been available on credit. He was the first to offer working people a payment plan for the purchase of an automobile.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, he enlisted in the Naval intelligence service and eventually became a lieutenant commander. His commission came about as he understood the operation a device used in the Navy for recording radio and telephone conversations – the 'telegraphone' – and the manufacturer was no longer in business. He remained in the service until 1919 but continued service in the U.S.N.R.F. (US Naval Reserve Forces) until 1939. He kept the title of lieutenant commander for the rest of his life.
He joined with Ralph Matthews and Karl Hassel, the three of them incorporating the Zenith Corporation (formerly Chicago Radio Labs) in 1923. From the call letters of their amateur station, 9ZN, they developed the trade name of ZN-th. The company survived the Great Depression and was soon the leader of radio manufacturers. At the same time McDonald launched a career as an explorer and adventurer that publicized the Zenith products and sent sales to new records.
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