Harvard, Claude, 1911-

Claude Harvard was born in Dublin, Georgia in 1911 and moved to Detroit, Michigan when he was nine. At fifteen he was accepted into the Henry Ford Trade School at Ford Motor Company's Highland Park Plant, where he became president of the school's radio club. At sixteen he became the first African American to earn an amateur radio operator license in Michigan and set up a station for the school. Harvard remained at Henry Ford Trade School for six years after graduating working on radio transmitters for Henry Ford's ships and conducting various experiments for the Ford Motor Company. Next, he was transferred to the Rouge River Plant where he continued inventing and developing machines and tools that resulted in numbers of patents for the Ford Motor Company. In 1938, Harvard left Ford to work for the Army Tank Automotive Command, retiring thirty-two years later.