Urban Legends and Hoaxes:
Federal Express got a C

Is it true that the basic idea for Federal Express was submitted as a term paper at Yale ... and only got a C?

Yup! Fred Smith, the founder of Federal Express, went to Yale back in the 60s and was quite the wild guy. He wrote up a term paper in 1965 laying out his basic plan for Federal Express, how it would operate. His professor, Challis A Hall Jr read it over, thought about the hub-and-spokes idea, and then promptly gave it a C.

Guess he didnīt think the idea would work ...

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