George Conrad Westervelt

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(s)	naval engineering, aircraft executive, corporate troubleshooter
Known for	Aircraft industry
Title	Co-Founder of Boeing Company
Spouse	Rieta Brabham Langhorne ​ ​ (m. 1927; died 1956)​
Children	2
Military career
Nickname(s)	Scrappy
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1901–1927 1942–1943
Rank	Captain
Commands	Naval Aircraft Factory
Battles / wars	World War I World War II

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 1901 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a 1908 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in naval architecture and marine engineering.^[3][4] 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.^[5] Westervelt retired from the USN with the rank of Captain.^[6]

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 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^[7][5] and later became vice-president with Curtiss-Wright following his retirement from the USN.^[8] From 1930 to 1931 Westervelt went to China to help out with the China National Aviation Corporation.^{[citation needed]}

During World War II, Westervelt was called back to active duty in April 1942 to manage military aircraft production by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation until Henry J. Kaiser took over in 1943.^[9][10]

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.^[11] He retired from Curtiss-Wright and became chairman of the board of the Kentucky River Coal Corporation. Westervelt died in 1956 in Florida, where he had a winter home at Jupiter Island and a ranch near Stuart, Florida.^[3][10]

Among Westervelt's family members were his brother William I. Westervelt, a US Army brigadier general, and his nephew Peter Westervelt, a prominent college professor and physicist.^[12]

Westervelt was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.^[13]