William Edward Boeing

• American

William E Boeing (1881-1956) was founder of the Boeing Airplane Company, the largest and most successful commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world. Starting from a base in the lumber industry, Boeing became a pioneer in the design and manufacture of airplanes just before America's entry into World War I. Expanding first into the production of military aircraft during the war and then into contracts for scheduled mail delivery and regular commercial passenger service, the Boeing empire eventually included all aspects of aviation, from technological development and aircraft production to international airline transportation systems. In 1934, forced by the Federal government to dissolve the interlocking partnerships between the manufacturing and transportation divisions, Boeing resigned from the industry he had pioneered and turned to other interests. - NPS