George Conrad Westervelt (December 30, 1879 – March 15, 1956) was a U.S. Navy engineer who created the company "Pacific Aero Products Co." together with William Boeing.[1] Westervelt left the company in 1916 and Boeing changed the name of the company to the Boeing Airplane Company the following year.

George Conrad Westervelt
Cmdr. G. C. Westervelt
Born	December 30, 1879 Corpus Christi, Texas, US
Died	March 15, 1956(1956-03-15) (aged 76) Florida, US
Burial place	Arlington National Cemetery
Education	Texas Military Institute, San Antonio, Texas, now TMI Episcopal School of Texas; United States Naval Academy
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States Naval Academy
Occupation	naval engineering, aircraft executive, corporate troubleshooter
Known for	Aircraft industry
Title	Co-Founder of Boeing Company
Spouse(s)	Rieta Brabham Langhorne ​ ​ (m. 1927; died 1956)​
Children	2
Military career
Nickname(s)	Scrappy
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1903–1927
Rank	Captain
Commands held	Naval Aircraft Factory

Early life

George Conrad Westervelt was born in Corpus Christi, Texas to GW Westervelt and Ida Florence DeRyee (DuRy) Westervelt. He attended Corpus Christi Grammar School and Texas Military Institute, San Antonio, Texas.[2]

Naval career

Westervelt was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in naval engineering.[3] Until 1916 Westervelt was stationed on the west coast of the United States. In 1916 he was transferred to the east coast and headed the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia from 1921 to 1927.[4] Westervelt retired from the USN with the rank of Captain.

Aviation career

During his naval career, Westervelt was also involved in naval aviation. Westervelt became friends with Boeing and worked with him on seaplanes, co-designing the Boeing Model 1, and co-founded what would become The Boeing Company. He left Pacific Aero Products after 1916 after being transferred to the east coast by the USN. Westervelt was assigned by the Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair to work with Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on the Curtiss NC float plane[5][4] and later became vice-president with Curtiss-Wright following his retirement from the USN.[6] From 1930 to 1931 Westervelt went to China to help out with the China National Aviation Corporation.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Westervelt was married to Rieta Brabham Langhorne of Lynchburg, Virginia, on December 20, 1927, and had two daughters, Sally Cary and Effie Eda.[7] He retired from Curtiss-Wright and died in Florida in 1956.[3]

Westervelt is buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.[8]

References