born June 27, 1899, Seabright, N.J., U.S.
died April 3, 1981, New York, N.Y.
U.S. airline founder.
He served as a pilot in World War I. After graduating from Yale University in 1922, he promptly established an air taxi service using government-surplus aircraft. He next formed Colonial Air Transport, which began the first airmail route between New York City and Boston. In 1927 he founded Pan American World Airways . Under him the company introduced the first round-the-world air service (1947) and the first commercial jets (1955). He retired in 1968.