Fredrick J. Schlink

F.J. Schlink, the founder of Consumers’ Research, was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1891. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in 1912 and later a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1917. During the mid-1920s, Schlink co-authored the best-selling book Your Money’s Worth, which studied the marketing practices of the time, highlighting how difficult it was for consumers to know the true value of the products they purchased. As the book grew in popularity, Schlink assisted in the formation of a Consumers’ Club to give consumers critical and competent information on products. By 1929, the Club evolved into Consumers’ Research, Inc., with Schlink as founder and technical director. In 1932, Schlink co-authored another consumer protections best-selling book, 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, which sold over 250,000 copies. Under Schlink’s leadership, Consumers’ Research membership grew to more than50,000 people.