- Smith is an Honorary Ranger. The title was bestowed by the National Park Foundation in 2018 to recognize his history of aiding in the preservation of African American history and culture at national parks.
- [Firsts] In 2017, Smith was the first African American to sign the Giving Pledge. In 2016, Smith became the first African American to be elected Chairman of Carnegie Hall.
- Both of Smith's parents were educators and earned doctorate degrees in education.
- Smith became a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha at Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1985.
- When he was a young man, Smith imagined that becoming a chemical engineer seemed like the closest thing to being a modern-day alchemist.
- The Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy in Denver, Colorado, is named after Smith, as is the Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family Center at the NMAAHC. Cornell University renamed its engineering school the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in honor of Smith's accomplishments.
- He is a graduate of East High School in Denver, Colorado.
- He is the creator and Executive Producer of Black History in Two Minutes which won the 2020 People's Choice Webby Award.
- While working at Kraft General Foods, Smith developed two U.S. and two European patents for coffee filtering systems.
- In 1994, Smith graduated with honors from Columbia Business School at Columbia University having earned an MBA in finance and marketing.
- Smith was bused to public elementary school following an arson attack on the city's bus fleet to end a program intended to desegregate public education in Denver, Colorado.
- Smith is an avid and accomplished angler. He is co-founder of Angler's of Honor, a nonprofit that provides access to therapeutic riverside fishing for veterans with disabilities and their families.
- Smith worked for the Goldman Sachs Group in New York City and San Francisco from 1994 to 2000.
- [Philanthropy] Smith's gift of $20 to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was the largest by an individual donor. Smith personally matched the Fund II Foundation granted $50 million for the launch of the Student Freedom Initiative. Smith also matched Fund II Foundation's $20 million contribution to Cornell University's College of Engineering. Smith provided another $10 million in STEM scholarships for African Americans and women. Smith settled over $34 million in student loan debt for Morehouse Class of 2019 graduates and families.
- When he was 8 months old, Smith took part in the March for Freedom in Washington, D.C. while in his mother's arms and heard Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's, "I have a Dream" speech in person.
- Smith has one brother, Allan Smith.
- He is the creator and Executive Producer of Black History in Two Minutes which won the 2020 and 2021 People's Choice Webby Award.
- [Firsts] In 2017, Smith was the first African American to sign the Giving Pledge. In 2016, Smith became the first African American to be elected Chairman of Carnegie Hall.
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