Aviation Pioneer. Leader in the aviation industry and co-founder and chairwoman of Beech Aircraft Company. Under her leadership, Beech Aircraft became a leading manufacturer of private airplanes for general aviation, including propeller, turbo-prop and jet planes, and in addition the company won missile and space contracts. She was hired in 1925 as the secretary to Walter Beech, director of the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas. Beechcraft company, was formed in 1932 with Mrs. Beech as secretary-treasurer. Walter was a talented designer of planes, she emerged as the hard-driving supervisor and shrewd manager of the corporate finances, upon Walter's death in 1950, she became president and chairwoman. The company grew from having a handful of employees to a payroll of more than 10,000 and annual sales exceeding $900 million. Raytheon Company bought Beechcraft in 1980, and she was elected to the parent company's board. Appointments were made to national boards by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon, along with being president of the Women's International Association of Aeronautics. Fortune magazine twice named her as one of the top 10 women in business in the 1970s. A final tribute was being awarded the aviation industry's Wright Brothers Trophy and being inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame.
Aviation Pioneer. Leader in the aviation industry and co-founder and chairwoman of Beech Aircraft Company. Under her leadership, Beech Aircraft became a leading manufacturer of private airplanes for general aviation, including propeller, turbo-prop and jet planes, and in addition the company won missile and space contracts. She was hired in 1925 as the secretary to Walter Beech, director of the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas. Beechcraft company, was formed in 1932 with Mrs. Beech as secretary-treasurer. Walter was a talented designer of planes, she emerged as the hard-driving supervisor and shrewd manager of the corporate finances, upon Walter's death in 1950, she became president and chairwoman. The company grew from having a handful of employees to a payroll of more than 10,000 and annual sales exceeding $900 million. Raytheon Company bought Beechcraft in 1980, and she was elected to the parent company's board. Appointments were made to national boards by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon, along with being president of the Women's International Association of Aeronautics. Fortune magazine twice named her as one of the top 10 women in business in the 1970s. A final tribute was being awarded the aviation industry's Wright Brothers Trophy and being inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame.
Bio by: David G. Stuart
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Beech or Mellor memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
