Robert Erickson (1901-1989) was born in Fitchburg, MA and graduated from Northeastern University's School of Engineering in 1926. He earned an M.S. in Business Administration from Boston University in 1930. While attending Northeastern, he was known as the most active man in his class. He was a member of the student senate, played drums in the school orchestra, and was an enthusiastic participant in his fraternity, Beta Gamma Epsilon.