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The Yale University graduate and Marine Corps veteran was 80 years old.
Known as an innovator, Smith revolutionized parcel delivery with next-day air service. He once said, "I love that phrase, 'If you don't like change, you're going to hate extinction.' You've got to change."
"Fred was more than just the pioneer of an industry and the founder of our great company," FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam said in a statement. "He was the heart and soul of FedEx – its PSP culture, values, integrity, and spirit.
"He was a mentor to many and a source of inspiration to all. He was also a proud father, grandfather, husband, Marine, and friend; please keep the entire Smith family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."
A Mississippi native, Smith studied economics at Yale and wrote a 1965 term paper on overnight delivery service. Though there were stories that he received a C, Smith said he didn't remember the grade, but later noted, "You didn't have to be smart to go to Yale in 1962. That's not self-deprecating language. That's the facts."
He served in the Marines from 1966 to 1969 and was a platoon leader and captain in South Vietnam.
He founded Federal Express in 1971, with official operations starting in 1973, with about a dozen planes flying packages to 25 US cities.
Smith said in an interview with Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO David Solomon last year that his interest in aircraft began when his mother married an Air Force general was he was age 15. His stepfather taught him how to fly planes. Smith's natural father died when he was age 4.
FedEx now has annual sales of around $80 billion and around half a million workers serving 220 countries.
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