Clarence Birdseye (December 9, 1886 – October 7, 1956) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during his career was the double belt freezer.
One of nine children, Birdseye grew up in New York City before heading to Amherst College and began his scientific career with the U.S. government. A biography was published by Doubleday over a half century after his death.
Early life and education
Clarence Birdseye was the sixth of nine children of Clarence Frank Birdseye, a lawyer in an insurance firm, and Ada Jane Underwood.[1] His first years were spent in New York, New York, where his family owned a townhouse in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. From childhood, Birdseye was obsessed with natural science and with taxidermy, which he taught himself by correspondence. At the age of eleven he advertised his courses in the subject.[2][3]