Zeder was born on March 19, 1886. Then his family lived in Bay City, Michigan. Zeder's parents were Rudolph Zeder and Matilta Jane Zeder. Zeder had 4 brothers and 1 sister. He had little formal schooling at the Bay City public schools and was put to work earning income for the family at the age of 11. His first job was as a helper being a machinist's apprentice for Industrial Works of Bay City. At age 12 Zeder was a railroad call boy. Also at age 12 he had a job in the railroad industry, inspecting the railroad car axles to make sure they were oiled and greased properly.
In 1909 after graduating from Michigan, Zeder was hired by the Allis-Chalmers Company in West Allis, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee for their apprentice course as an erecting engineer. This is where he met Carl Breer. Allis-Chalmers selected twenty-five of the best students of mechanical engineering from top universities of the United States. Besides Zeder, Carl Breer was such a student. Breer was from Stanford University. Zeder and Breer became close friends in their training at Allis-Chalmers.
Studebaker to Willys
Zeder then was hired in 1910 by a power plant in Detroit helping to build it. His next job, later in 1910, was at the E-M-F Company in Detroit taking charge of their engineering laboratory working on car body design, while still a consultant of the Detroit power plant construction project. Studebaker brothers took over E-M-F. in 1912 to produce Studebaker automobiles. Zeder was first a consulting engineer for them. Later in 1914, at the age of 28, he was promoted as Studebaker's chief engineer.
The Three Musketeers
Studebaker reached their production peak in 1916, however had major financial problems and was about to be bankrupt. Zeder saw this as a weakness in the engineering department and hired two key knowledgeable mechanical engineers, Carl Breer and Owen Skelton, to form a new engineering nucleus. These three engineers were referred to as "The Three Musketeers" by those who knew them. Zeder was the vice president of Studebaker and his main job was that of being in charge of engineering. Breer, because of his analytical skills, was made the director of research laboratories. Skelton was put in charge of design. Zeder originally got acquainted with Breer at Allis-Chalmers where they apprenticed at the same time in 1910 in mechanical engineering. In 1914 Zeder enticed Breer to come over to Studebaker to work with him in their engineering department. Zeder's relationship with Breer was quite close. Breer even married one of Zeder's sisters. Of the three engineers Zeder was considered the "front man" because of his charismatic personality and advanced engineering talents. Skelton had engineering talents for engines and transmitting its power to the wheels and Breer had technical engineering design abilities.
Chrysler
"The Three Musketeers" of Studebaker and Willys—Zeder, Skelton, and Breer—were brought by Walter Chrysler over to the nascent Chrysler Corporation and became the heart of its engineering department, which over the next 50 years would earn a reputation in the automotive industry as one of the best such departments at any major manufacturing corporation. The Chrysler cars of the 1920s and 1930s featured many firsts in automobile engineering. For example, Lee Iacocca credited Frederick Zeder, who became Chrysler's chief of engineering, with leading the development of rubber motor mounts. Iacocca said that Zeder "was the first man to figure out how to get the vibrations out of cars. His solution? He mounted their engines on a rubber base."
Later life and honors
In 1933 the Chrysler Graduate School of Engineering Research combined with the Chrysler Institute of Engineering to form one charter. It offered engineering degrees including a doctorate in engineering. Credits were honored by four accredited colleges by 1937 including the University of Michigan. Zeder was the Institute's first president. He received an honorary doctorate of engineering with the first graduation exercises in 1933. Inducted to Automotive Hall of Fame.
