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Here’s hoping that reaching the age of 100 will bring Viktor Schreckengost the recognition he deserves. Never heard of him? If you haven’t, you should. When all is said and done, Schreckengost will be remembered as one of the most important industrial designers and product innovators the U.S. has ever produced. Schreckengost celebrates his 100th birthday on Monday, and exhibitions in his honor are taking place in 100 museums and galleries across the country.

Schreckengost executed much of his groundbreaking work at a time when industrial designers labored in anonymity. Fortunately, he’s stayed with us long enough to take credit for accomplishments such as the iconic bicycles and pedal cars he designed for Murray. Some 50 million of his Murray bikes were sold, National Public Radio reported in a recent profile. Given that the population of the U.S. was much smaller in Murray’s heyday than it is today, Schreckengost’s bicycles were every bit as emblematic of that time as the Apple iPod is of ours.

Schreckengost’s first mass-production breakthrough came when he created dinnerware for American Limoges. By endowing manufactured household goods with a true design aesthetic, vs. merely stamping them out, he set the stage for the work of Michael Graves, Martha Stewart and others. 

Arranging the marriage of thoughtful design to mass-production cost efficiencies may have been Schreckengost’s most notable achievement. His accomplishment was no accident. As Schreckengost told NPR, “I had always resented the fact that only wealthy people could afford good things. Everything else is too expensive. And I thought if I could make enough of anything, everybody can enjoy it.”

Schreckengost’s innovations weren’t limited to dinnerware and bicycles. He is credited, for example, with developing the “cab-forward” truck, a space-saving design that places the cab atop the engine, enabling the trailer portion of the rig to be longer and thus haul larger loads.

It is in some ways unfortunate that Schreckengost’s prime came at a time when designers weren’t celebrated as they are today. But happily, thanks to his good fortune in reaching the milestone of 100 four days from now, there’s still an opportunity for this important innovator to become properly known and recognized while he’s still around.