Avery Robert Fisher was an amateur violinist, a pioneer in the field of high fidelity sound reproduction, founder of the Philharmonic Radio Company and Fisher Electronics, and a philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to arts organizations and universities.
19 Facts About Avery Fisher
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Avery Fisher was born in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of Charles and Mary Fisher's six children.
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Avery Fisher's parents had emigrated in 1903 from Kyiv, then a part of the Russian Empire.
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In 1937 Avery Fisher established his first company, the Philharmonic Radio Company with Victor Brociner, producing the company's first high-fidelity radio receivers.
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Philharmonic Radio equipment was well regarded, earning Avery Fisher the beginning of his reputation as a leader in audio equipment.
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Avery Fisher followed with its $350,22-tube, stereophonic 600 receiver in 1959.
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Between 1964 and 1968, Avery Fisher produced a series of tube stereo receivers that are considered by many to be among the finest ever made.
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Between 1963 and 1964, Avery Fisher introduced their first all-transistor stereophonic receiver, the Avery Fisher 400T.
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Hi-fi enthusiasts did not highly regard early transistor receivers, so manufacturers such as Avery Fisher began using them only gradually.
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In 1969, Avery Fisher sold his company to the Emerson Electric Company for US $31 million.
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Avery Fisher distributed a sizable portion of the proceeds from the sale among his key employees.
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Avery Fisher served as a consultant to the new management team.
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Avery Fisher was known for having donated $10.5 million to renovate the Philharmonic Hall auditorium in the Lincoln Center cultural complex in upper Manhattan.
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Avery Fisher had a reputation for modesty and resisted the hall being named in his honor.
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Avery Fisher Hall housed the New York Philharmonic and was the site of various other musical and cultural events featuring many musical ensembles.
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Avery Fisher donated his fees for those projects to charities.
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One of Avery Fisher's most prized possessions was a genuine 1692 Stradivarius violin.
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Avery Fisher imported aftermarket foreign auto parts and sold items such as high-performance Abarth exhaust systems for Fiats and Volkswagens in the early 1950s.
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Avery Fisher died at age 87 at the New Milford Hospital in New Milford, Connecticut, on February 26,1994, from complications from a stroke.