Robert (Bob) Abplanalp (1922 - 2003) was a Swiss-American inventor (founder of Precision Valve Corporation) and political activist.

Abplanalp graduated from Fordham Preparatory School in 1939 and studied mechanical engineering at Villanova University and ran his own small machine shop prior to entering the United States Army in 1943.

After fighting in World War II he worked in his machine shop where he invented the first workable aerosol valve that could be mass-produced inexpensively.

He began the Precision Valve Corporation in 1949, and, by 1950, 15,000,000 valves had been produced, marking the beginning of his business empire.

Later in life he became a Republican and supported many conservative causes. Abplanalp was a close friend and supporter of former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, Nixon's immediate family and Nixon's long-time confidant, Charles ("Bebe") Rebozo.

Abplanalp died of cancer in 2003.

1922 births | 2003 deaths | American World War II veterans | American inventors | Notable Lay Catholics | Swiss-Americans | Knights of Malta