Earnest Andersson

Earnest Andersson (born Ernest DeNeen Anderson; February 10, 1878 – June 23, 1943) was an American polymath born to a Swedish immigrant father in Iowa. Childhood illness prevented him from attaining formal schooling beyond the fifth grade. Andersson, a highly precocious child, nevertheless became skilled as a composer, inventor, and painter through a combination of home schooling and auto-didacticism. After dithering over which field to pursue, he chose to become an inventor and moved to New York City to find work. Andersson soon became financially successful; by the end of the 1920s, the patents he was granted for various packaging machines he invented had made him a millionaire. He also became an accomplished amateur athlete, race car driver, pilot, photographer, and radio operator. His wealth connected him to influential artists, including those that he met at the Hotel des Artistes, which he had devised and where he also kept a residence. Although he was affected by the consequences of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, financial decisions he had made allowed him to bear the period without excessive detriment. After a brief residence in Florida, where he became a professional golfe