With over 500 views, here are the answers, which may surprise.
1. Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company.
2. Dayton Brown.
3. Grumman G-72 Kitten II
4. 4 February 1946, incidentally the day and month, not year, of my birth.
5. Only one.
In late 1943, as World War II was turning in the Allies favor, Roy Grumman started thinking of expanding to postwar civil aircraft production. Up to that time, many light training aircraft were tube and fabric construction, as built by Piper, Aeronca and Taylorcraft. Grumman's first civil effort resulted in a single all metal G-63 Kitten I (obviously an offspring in name of its famous Naval fighter, the F4F Wildcat).
The G-63 was a sleek all metal spot welded tail dragger without rivets and two place with controls only on the left side-by-side seat. All three wheels were hydraulically retractable. The single tail was without a rudder. Power was a single Lycoming O-290 of 125 hp, resulting in a top speed of 149 mph. First flight was 18 March 1944. No production ensued.
The civil project resumed in 1946 with the G-72 Kitten II, which abandoned the tail wheel for a retractable nose gear and added needed dual controls for training instruction and a third rear seat. All landing gear were hydraulically retractable. A single tail was tried for a time, but it reverted to original twin tails, no rudders. The wing was modified in 1947 to a G-81 configuration with slotted flaps for wind tunnel and ducted-wing testing. First G-81 flight was 11 February 1947, but no production ensued. Grumman was busy at that time producing what was to be a progressively larger all metal series of amphibian aircraft starting with the G-73 Mallard and also entering the missile age.
Incidentally, the sole G-63 Kitten I survives in a New York aviation museum.