home_town nationality birth_date known_for article_title name occupation
marengo , illinois american august 3 , 1928 invention horse breeding theme parks thomas j. smrt
 thomas j. smrt inventor entrepreneur theme park operator
thomas j. smrt

thomas j. smrt is an american inventor , businessman and entrepreneur who is best known as the inventor of the upside-down aerosol spray paint can .
he was previously the owner of fox valley systems , a company that markets his spray paint applicators , however he sold the company to his sons in 2006 .
he is also known for breeding rare shire horses -lrb- helping to increase their overall population from just 50 horses when he began -rrb- , and for opening the short-lived shireland theme park .
