Alexander McCormick Sturm

Alexander McCormick Sturm (June 23, 1923 – November 16, 1951) was an American artist, author, and entrepreneur who co-founded in 1949 the American firearms maker Sturm, Ruger & Co. Sturm provided the start-up money and designed the Germanic heraldic eagle found on all Ruger guns. Sturm came from a prominent Connecticut family, and his wealthy mother was of the McCormick mercantile family. He was a Yale University graduate. Not long after the company had begun to succeed financially and gain traction, Sturm died from viral hepatitis. Early life and education Sturm was born in Westport, Connecticut, to sculptor, author and Yale football star Justin Sturm and Katherine "Kit" McCormick. He had one younger brother, Justin Jr., known as "Dusty". Kit's brother Alexander Agnew McCormick Jr. was a World War I officer and pilot. As a writer and artist, he was known for his two illustrated children's books—The Problem Fox, and From Ambush to Zig-zag—both published before he graduated from Yale; and for his lavish playboy lifestyle. A reviewer for The New York Times described The Problem Fox as "marvelous", and "a little masterpiece." While a student at Yale, Sturm liked to dine at the best hotel in town, while other students would eat at the school dining hall. One of his classmates from his undergraduate days at Yale recalled:Although Sturm preferred to stay indoors, he was an accomplished polo player. Co-founds Sturm, Ruger & Co.