Frank Milburn was an inventor and machinist in Burlington, Kentucky. He worked for the military during World War II, quietly manufacturing parts for the top-secret Norden bombsight, as well as consulting on numerous engineering issues. He invented numerous devices himself, but his true vocation was fostering the inventiveness of others. Over the course of two decades he helped hundreds of inventors perfect their designs for everything from a grapefruit seeder to a powered multi-tool, eventually bringing them to the public.
This article was originally published in Northern Kentucky Heritage Magazine (XII:2) Spring/Summer 2006.