Clarence Leonidas 'Leo' Fender was a pioneering American inventor who founded the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company. He is credited with designing the first commercially successful solid-body electric guitars, the Telecaster and the Stratocaster. Fender also designed the Precision Bass, the first mass-produced electric bass guitar, which profoundly changed the sound of popular music. Although he never learned to play the instruments he created, his innovations revolutionized the music industry and continue to influence musicians worldwide.