Richard Scott Perkin (1906–1969) was an American entrepreneur and one of the cofounders of Perkin-Elmer.
[1] At an early age he developed an interest in astronomy, and began making telescopes and grinding lenses and mirrors.
He only spent a year in college studying chemical engineering before he began working at a brokerage firm on Wall Street.
In 1937, they founded Perkin-Elmer as an optical design and consulting company.
Perkin was married to Gladys Frelinghuysen Talmage[2] who became CEO after he died.