<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Mechanic, Inventor, Businessman </Td> </Tr> <P> Clessie Lyle Cummins (December 27, 1888 - August 17, 1968) was the founder of the Cummins Engine Co . He was an entrepreneur who improved on existing diesel engines, created new diesel engine designs, was awarded 33 United States patents for his inventions, and set five world records for endurance and speed for trucks, buses and race cars . </P> <P> Clessie Cummins was born on December 27, 1888 . </P> <P> Cummins began his career as a rural Indiana farm boy, and had no formal higher education beyond the eighth grade . In the 1920s Cummins went to work for a banker named William Irwin in Columbus, Indiana, as a chauffeur and mechanic . </P>

Cummins original mission statement to manufacture and sell