World apart, world renowned and enduring legacies. Remembering the two Frederick’s.
- Prashant Kavi (PK)
- Jul 5
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 27
AVIATHÈQUE joins the world in mourning the loss of two icons, twelve days apart in the month of June: Frederick Forsyth and Frederick Smith; one a chronicler of suspense and master storyteller, the other, a visionary who reimagined global connectivity.
Their stories, though separated by continents and vastly dissimilar disciplines, intertwine within the tapestry of enduring excellence they achieved in their respective fields, besides their connect with Aviation.
Both are personal hero's, as they are to a whole legion of followers and admirers all across the world. A brief homage therefore to these two icons by remembering them, their work and its indelible impact.
Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (25 August 1938 – 9 June 2025)
I distinctly recall watching the movie (Day of the Jackal, 1973), before I read the novel. This was in the late eighties and that set me on a single-minded pursuit to procure and read every Frederick Forsyth novel thereafter. And what a thrill it was to read each one of them, besides watching the movies based on his work – The Day of the Jackal starring Edward Fox and The Fourth Protocol starring Michael Caine stand out as personal favorites!
Frederick Forsyth, passed away on 9 June, leaving behind a legacy that will be best remembered by the genre of espionage thriller that he helped shape with his unique writing style. Characterized by a taut narrative structure, careful attention to detail, and the ability to integrate suspense with shadowy intrigue, often set in the backdrop of an expansive geopolitical landscape.
Although his career started with a brief stint in the Royal Air Force where he served for two-years (1956-58), flying the iconic British de Havilland DH100 Vampire jet fighter before switching to being a journalist with Reuters. Writing his first fictional novel and his most defining work, The Day of the Jackal, was borne out of a necessity to supplement his meagre income as a journalist. Not only did it become a huge commercial success but also garnered him literary recognition and rewards. In many ways, his RAF stint combined with his journalistic background lent his fiction an uncanny plausibility, while his characters - often solitary, resourceful, and morally complex - remain etched in literary memory.
Frederick Forsyth’s legacy is woven from more than words; it is composed of the worlds he constructed and the iconic characters he created. From “The Day of the Jackal” to “The Odessa File” and far beyond, he gave us not just books, but immersive journeys.
His passing marks the end of an era, but his books remain on countless shelves: dog-eared, well-thumbed and much cherished!
“In a world that increasingly obsesses over the gods of power, money, and fame, a writer must remain detached, like a bird on a rail, watching, noting, probing, commenting, but never joining. In short, an outsider.”
-Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Wallace Smith (11 August 1944 – 21 June 2025)
Frederick (Fred) Smith, the doyen of express shipping industry passed away on June 21 in Memphis (TN, USA), a city where he was clearly as much royalty as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll"!
Federal Express (later FedEx Corporation), the company he founded, went on to become a leader in express shipping and is widely considered to be the pioneer of the ‘overnight delivery’ service. And while FedEx has had a significant impact, economically, socially and even culturally (movie: Cast Away) all over the world, few might know that FedEx was also hugely inspirational to the founders of India’s own express shipping leader – Blue Dart Express. Legend has it that the three Blue Dart founders went to FedEx’s Memphis hub to study its operations only to be overawed and profoundly inspired to replicate the overnight delivery model in India, using all-cargo aircraft, flying a crisscross schedule across the country in the middle of the night!
Apparently, FedEx was conceived around an idea that was part of his undergraduate paper at Yale University—that time-sensitive shipments could circle the globe overnight—he revolutionized the way businesses operate, and in doing so, changed the very rhythm of commerce and communication. Fred Smith’s vision and relentless drive redefined how goods move across continents, shrinking distances and connecting people, businesses, and economies in ways, previously unimaginable.
And Fred Smith was not only an astute entrepreneur but also a true leader who valued integrity, resilience, and recognized the power of people, which was enshrined as the cornerstone of FedEx’s renowned “People-Service-Profit” philosophy.
And while Fred Smith’s legacy will always live on in FedEx –as a transportation and logistics powerhouse and a Fortune500 company that is also the world’s largest cargo airline- but more importantly, it will live on in every shipment that finds its way across the globe, connecting dreams, delivering hope, and proving that visionary thinking can indeed change the world.
"I'm not afraid to take a swing and miss."
-Frederick W. Smith
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