Hugo Pratt origin, his maternal grandfather was of Marrano (Jewish) descent, and his grandmother was of Turkish origin. He was also related to actor Boris Karloff (né William Henry Pratt). In 1937, Pratt moved with his mother to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), joining his father who was working there following the conquest of that country by Benito Mussolini's Italy. Pratt's father, a professional Italian soldier, was captured in 1941 by British troops and in late 1942, died from disease as a prisoner of war. The same year, Hugo Pratt and his mother were interned in a prison camp at Dirédaoua, where he would buy
Henry Pratt Co in the 1920s, the company manufactured products for electric power plants and gas plants. The Henry Pratt Company has a tradition of industry firsts. When welding came into use in the mid 1920s, Pratt was instrumental in the design and production of the first welded smoke stack, which was installed at Commonwealth Edison’s Fisk Street Generating Station. Another innovation for the Henry Pratt Company was the design of the first rubber-seated butterfly valve. Pratt applied for the patent in 1930 and it was granted in 1934. These original rubber-seated butterfly valves were created for “controlling the flow of air, powdered