Earle S. MacPherson

Earle Steele MacPherson, born on July 6, 1891 and died on January 26, 1960, was an American automotive engineer, most famous for developing the MacPherson strut in the 1940s. Born in Highland Park, Illinois, and a graduate of the University of Illinois, he served in World War I, worked for Chalmers and Liberty and joined Hupmobile in 1923. In 1934 he joined General Motors and became chief design engineer of the Chevrolet division in 1935, leading the Chevrolet Cadet project, a compact car meant to sell for under one thousand dollars, for which he developed a strut-type suspension. After the Cadet was cancelled he joined Ford in 1947, and the 1950 Ford Vedette became the first car to use a true MacPherson strut. He was chief engineer of Ford from 1952 until his retirement in May 1958.