2006 HALL OF FAME WINNER Alfred Willard French Sr. (1862 - 1925) French was born in Connecticut and graduated from M.I.T. in 1889. He stayed at the college for several years to teach mathematics. In 1899, he patented an improved cake trimming machine for use in the linseed oil industry. The next year he founded the French Oil Mill Machinery Company in Piqua. French received over fifty different patents before his life was cut short by a tragic automobile accident.