Allen E. Paulson*

Allen Paulson was born in 1922 on a farm in Clinton, Iowa. On his own at 13, he supported himself by selling newspapers and cleaning hotel lobbies and restrooms. At 15, a winning lottery ticket enabled Paulson to buy a bus ticket to California, where he worked on a dairy farm while attending school.

After graduating from high school in 1941, Paulson moved to West Virginia. He worked at least two jobs at a time while studying engineering. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Army Air Corps and then joined Trans World Airlines (TWA) as a flight engineer. After receiving a pilot's license, Paulson flew commercially for TWA.

Paulson left TWA in 1951 to form his own company. In 1952 after buying surplus aircraft engines and parts, he formed California Airmotive, which eventually became Learjet's main distributor. In 1978, he bought the Grumman American plants and offices and created the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. by combining Rockwell's general aviation division with Grumman Aerospace's corporate jet division.