Milton Carl Steuber was born and raised in the village of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. His father was William F. Steuber. Following graduation from high school in 1905, Steuber received his teaching certificate based on his high school grades and a certification exam. He taught in country schools for five years, supplementing his teacher's salary with work as a bricklayer and farmer. In 1910, Steuber left teaching and enrolled in Gem City Business College and Institute of Shorthand and Typewriting, and Normal Penmanship in Quincy, Illinois, where he studied general business, typing, and stenography.
Within a year of graduating from Gem City, Steuber entered the University of Wisconsin to study civil engineering. While at the University he taught stenography nights at the Madison Continuation School, predecessor of Madison Area Technical College. Steuber concluded both his degree and his teaching career in 1916.
Upon graduation Steuber accepted a position as a structural engineer with the McClintic-Marshall Construction Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. About this time he married Ottilie L. Schirmer of Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 1918, Steuber joined the U.S. Army and after a brief stay at Camp Grant, Illinois, was shipped to France. He eventually earned the rank of sergeant.
Discharged in 1919, Steuber returned to Pittsburgh. In 1926, he began his own consulting firm, National Engineering Services, Inc. However, the failing economy forced Steuber to sell the firm in 1929. Out of work, Steuber repeatedly applied for civil service positions. In 1934, Steuber accepted a temporary position with the Wisconsin Highway Commission.
During this period, Steuber undertook a series of design projects as an avocation. Among his projects was development of an automatic transmission for an automobile. Steuber developed his idea into a workable model and fitted one to his car. The idea proved practical and Steuber patented the idea in 1935. Despite attempts to sell the patent no buyers were found.
By the late 1930s, Steuber had moved to Washington, D.C. to work in the federal government. He worked for a number of agencies before settling into the Defense Plant Corporation in 1941, where he remained until 1945. Late in 1945, with the decreased defense production, Steuber transferred to the Bureau of Public Roads. Working as a field engineer and supervisor in the Wisconsin district, Steuber remained with the Bureau until his retirement in 1959. Following retirement, Steuber lived in Madison, Wisconsin until his death in 1978.
