Edward Curtis Wells

"Ed Wells" redirects here. For the baseball player, see Ed Wells (baseball).

Edward Curtis Wells (August 26, 1910 – July 1, 1986) was an American aviation executive. He was senior vice president and served on the board of directors of Boeing Company.^[1] He helped to design the Boeing 707, 747 and the B-17 Flying Fortress.^[2][3] He was known as the "elder statesman of aviation".^[4]

Edward Curtis Wells
Born	(1910-08-26)August 26, 1910 Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Died	July 1, 1986(1986-07-01) (aged 75) Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
Employer	Boeing Company

Biography

Wells was born in Boise, Idaho, on August 26, 1910, and graduated from Grant High School in Portland, Oregon. He attended Willamette University for two years then attended Stanford University^[4] where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1931 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in engineering.

Wells joined Boeing Company's engineering staff in 1931 and was named Boeing's chief engineer in 1943.^[4][5]

Wells died on July 1, 1986, in Bellevue, Washington.^[2]

Honors

• Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1980).^[4]
• Fawcett Aviation Award (1944).
• Lawrence Sperry Award from the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (1942).