Leroy Randle Grumman

	LEROY RANDLE GRUMMAN Aeronautical Engineer - Aviation Industrialist
	Born Huntington, New York, 4 January, 1894. Designated a Naval Aviator in 1918, early test pilot and design engineer. Champion of Naval aviation -- founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation. Perfected the first practical floats with retractable wheels, the first dependable retractable landing gear, and developed bird-like folding wings which permitted increased numbers of planes on aircraft carriers. His rugged high-performance aircraft have for more than four decades been the backbone of naval aviation.
	Elected to the International Aerospace Hall of Fame 1973