Avery Robert Fisher (March 4, 1906 – February 26, 1994) 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. Early life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Avery Fisher was the youngest of Charles (Anschel) (1868-1946) and Mary (Miriam) (née Byrach) (1869-1945) Fisher's six children. He came from a Jewish family. His parents had emigrated in 1903 (three years before his birth) from Kiev, then a part of Russia. Fisher said he became fascinated with music through his father's large collection of early phonograph cylinder recordings and that everyone in the family had to learn to play a musical instrument. “I was born into a musical family. Every one of my parents’ children was given an opportunity to learn an instrument. Papa would go down the line: violin, piano, violin, piano, violin". He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science Engineering (B.Sc.Eng.) degree in 1929 and subsequently worked for six years in book publishing and book design. During this time, Fisher, an amateur violinist, began experimenting with audio design and acoustics. He wanted to make a radio that would sound like he was listening to a live orchestra — a radio that would achieve high fidelity reproduction of the original sound. Book design and moonlighting as an audio equipment engineer Fisher explained his desire to leave publishing and move into audio design, saying "That's how I started to make a living when I got out of college. I worked with a publishing house, Dodd, Mead and Company – to whom I owe everything when you get right down to it. I worked at Dodd, Mead & Co. for the single most cruel person I have ever met in my lifetime – and I'm not exaggerating. This man was only a year older than I. He was the boss's son, and I think he sensed my apprehension about having a job at all. I went to work there in 1933, having been in the advertising agency that handled their account before that. That agency closed when the banks closed in 1933, and I was out of work for about six months. In the fall of that year, I went to Dodd, Mead asking if they