A Qantas Boeing 747–400 commercial airplane flies above the opera house in Sydney, Australia. (Corbis Corporation)

Education and War Experience

Eugene Jules Houdry, one of the fathers of petroleum refining, was born in Dumont, France, outside of Paris, on April 18, 1892, and grew up during an era of rapid technological change and innovation. Houdry was blessed with considerable emotional and financial support from his family and encouraged to reach for lofty and risky goals.

With the urging of his father, a wealthy steel manufacturer, Houdry studied mechanical engineering at the École des Arts et Métiers in Chalons-sur-Marne near Paris. He earned the government's gold model for highest scholastic achievement in his class and captained its national champion soccer team. Graduating in 1911, Houdry briefly worked in his father's metalworking business, Houdry et Fils, but joined the army prior to the outbreak...