Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1874, Henry Brucker was the eldest of nine children. Henry took on the role of being the family's only provider after his father passed away when he was ten years old. He started out as a postal runner at a hat factory before moving on to become a hat former and blocker. Henry began working for U.S. Electric (now Westinghouse) when he was 13 years old. He eventually rose to the position of foreman, supervising five boys who ran nail machines on a production line. After reading an article in Scientific America about the discovery of light metal aluminum and its potential applications, Henry became enamored with the metal. Later, he came upon a commercial for an aluminum three-inch scale.