The son of Scottish immigrants, William Gray (1850–1903) was one of five children who was born in a small Connecticut town but soon moved to one of the country’s largest cities: Boston. When Gray came of age, his father, Neil, who was a bridge builder, sought employment for his young son. Rather than the strenuous labor of building bridges, Neil acquired for his son a job with a local druggist. This first job would not last long. After only a few months, it was clear to the business owner that Gray was not cut out for the boredom of the drug store. The owner informed Neil that “[William] was always down cellar or elsewhere, whittling things out of wood, making models.” The young man’s father was able to maneuver him from drugstore to machine shop.
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William Gray. Public Domain
