- Robert Abplanalp
Robert Henry (Bob) Abplanalp (
April 4 ,1922 ,New York City -August 30 ,2003 ,Bronxville, New York ) was a Swiss-Americaninventor who invented the aerosol valve [Cite web |url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20021001/24702.html |title=A Brief History of Innovation |accessdate=2007-09-07 |author=Mark Kwak] , the founder of Precision Valve Corporation and a political activist.New York Times, "Robert Abplanalp, 81, Inventor and Nixon Confidant, Dies," Linda Greenhouse, Final, Section C, Page 11, Column 1]Born to Swiss immigrant parents in
The Bronx , Abplanalp graduated fromFordham Preparatory School in 1939 and studiedmechanical engineering atVillanova University and ran his own smallmachine shop prior to entering theUnited States Army in 1943.After fighting in
World War II he worked in his machine shop where he invented the first workable aerosolvalve that could be mass-produced inexpensively.He began the
Precision Valve Corporation in 1949, and, by 1950, 15,000,000 valves had been produced, marking the beginning of his business empire. In 1956 he married Josephine Sloboda.Later in life he became a Republican and supported many conservative causes. Abplanalp was a close friend and supporter of former U.S. President
Richard M. Nixon , Nixon's immediate family and Nixon's long-time confidant, Charles ("Bebe") Rebozo.Abplanalp and his wife donated much to charities championed by the
Roman Catholic Church. In recognition, they were inducted in 1971 into two charitable orders: theOrder of Malta and theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre .At the time of Abplanalp's death of cancer on August 30, 2003, he held over 300 aerosol-related patents.
References
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