Biographical Note

Email from author (6 Aug 2025): "John Morris Leonard was born in 1939 and grew up in Speedway, Indiana. After graduating from Purdue University in 1964, John worked in engineering departments at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. After retiring in 1997 he worked in the controls department at Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis for 12 years. He is the chief archivist for the Allison Branch of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. In this position he has written articles for the Journal of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, the American Aviation Historical Society, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has also written 4 books on the history of the Allison Division of General Motors and its products. Because he has had access to the Allison archives, he has been able to do research that provided new insights on details of Allison activities and products."