Portal:Florida/Selected biography/13
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Carl Graham Fisher (January 12, 1874 – July 15, 1939) was an American entrepreneur. Despite having severe astigmatism, he became a seemingly tireless pioneer and promoter of the automotive, auto racing, and real estate development industries. Regarded as a promotional genius for most of his life, in the late 19th century, he became a bicycle enthusiast and became involved in bicycle racing and later auto racing. After being injured in stunts, he helped develop paved racetracks and roadways. An Indiana native, Fisher operated what is believed to be the first automobile dealership in the United States and he helped organize the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In 1913, Fisher conceived and helped develop the Lincoln Highway, the first paved road planned across the entire United States. A convoy trip a few year later by the U.S. Army along Fisher's Lincoln Highway was a major influence upon then Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower years later in championing the Interstate Highway System during his presidency in the 1950s. Carl Fisher followed the east-west Lincoln Highway in 1914 with the conception of the north-south Dixie Highway, which first led from Indianapolis, and eventually extended in several northern branches from the Mid-West U.S. at the Canadian borders to southern mainland Florida. Under his leadership, the initial portion was completed within a single year, and he led an automobile caravan to Florida from Indiana.
