Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman (4 January 1895 – 4 October 1982) was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist. In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and now part of Northrop Grumman. Early life Grumman was born in Huntington, New York. His forebears had Connecticut roots and owned a brewery. When he was a child, his father, George Tyson Grumman, owned and operated a carriage shop, and later worked for the post office. From an early age, "Red Mike" (a nickname he gained because of his red-blond hair) demonstrated an interest in aviation, and in his 20 June 1911 high school salutatory address at Huntington High School, Grumman predicted that "[t]he final perfection of the aeroplane will be one of the greatest triumphs that man has ever gained over nature." Grumman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1916. His first job was in the engineering department of the New York Telephone Company. After the United States entered World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in June 1917 as a machinist's mate, 2nd class, and was sent to Columbia University for a course on "subchaser" engines. Aviation career Although Grumman applied for flight training, he failed a medical evaluation when the examining board incorrectly diagnosed flat feet. A clerical error, however, had him report to a course in aircraft inspection for pilot trainees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Without revealing the error in classification, he entered primary flight training at Naval Air Station Miami and successfully completed advanced flight training in Pensacola, Florida, in September 1918. Raymond P. Applegate, his flight instructor, recalled several years later that his young charge "was very, very reticent. Most of the guys, after they [learned to] fly, they became tougher than hell. Grumman didn't." He was commissioned an ensign (as naval aviator No. 1216), eventually becoming a flight instructor, and assigned to a bombing squadron. After one tour of duty, the U.S. Navy sent him to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study the brand new discipline of aeronautical engineering. After the completion of the course, Grumman's first posting, along with a promotion to lieutenant, was at the League Island Naval Yard as an acceptance test pilot for Curtiss- and Navy-built flying boats. In 1919, the U.S. Navy stationed Grumman at Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation in New York City