by Excelsior

Created on: May 07, 2009

William Boeing's name will forever be synonymous with the company he formed, that has been the industry leader in aviation for many decades.

William Edward Boeing was born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 1st 1881. His father was a successful German mining engineer and a part time timber merchant. He spent his formative years in Switzerland, where he attended school. After coming back to the United States, he went on to attend Yale University, and studied engineering. 3 years later, in 1903, William took over his father's timber business, investing in lands on the Olympic peninsula in Washington State.

Due to the nature of his business, Boeing had experimented with wooden structures. In fact, he had tried a hand at boat design. When in 1909, he traveled to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, a fair held in Seattle boasting the Pacific Northwest's development, Boeing had his first encounter with an airplane. This was the trigger to a life time fascination with aircraft.

Boeing formed the Pacific Aero Products Co. in 1916, along with his business partner, a U.S Navy engineer by the name of George Conrad Westervelt. When Westervelt left the company, it was renamed as the Boeing Aircraft Company. At first Boeing manufactured small seaplanes. In 1917, with the US's entry into World War 1, 50 of these seaplanes were ordered by the Navy. Boeing's aircraft also saw extensive use as airmail planes.

William Boeing married Bertha Marie Potter in 1921. Bertha already had two sons from a previous marriage, but William accepted them as his stepsons. One of these stepsons later became the sales manager for Douglas Aircraft, one of the Boeing company's early competitors. Boeing also had his own son from the marriage. By the early 1930's, Boeing's company had significantly grown. One division of the company was established as an airline, the other as an aircraft manufacturer. The government accused Boeing of holding various monopolies, and he was ordered to break up his company into separate ones. One of these became United Airlines, the other the Boeing Airplane company and the United Aircraft Corporation, which is re-branded today as United Technologies. All 3 of these companies still remain in business to this very day.

Boeing retired officially from the aviation industry in 1934, having established a gigantic manufacturing company. In retirement, he was involved in property development. He also pursued another hobby of his- horse breeding. When World War 2 arrived, the Boeing company really took off. William Boeing volunteered his expertise to the company as a consultant. Boeing died while out sailing on his yacht on September 27th, 1956. He lived to see the company he founded enter the jet age, and build a mighty aircraft, the B-52 bomber. He was 74, and just a few days shy of his 75th birthday.

William Boeing's memory will live on in every aircraft the Boeing company produces. His perseverance and inventions have served to connect the people of the world together, and make the earth a smaller place, traversable in a few hours by aircraft.

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