Eugene Luther Vidal

Eugene Luther Vidal
Gene Vidal in 1934
Born	(1895-04-13)April 13, 1895 Madison, South Dakota, U.S.
Died	February 20, 1969(1969-02-20) (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouses	Nina S. Gore ​ ​ (m. 1922; div. 1935)​ Katharine Roberts ​ (m. 1939)​
Children	3, including Gore Vidal

Eugene Luther "Gene" Vidal (/vɪˈdɑːl/;^[1] April 13, 1895 – February 20, 1969) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, New Deal official, inventor, and athlete. For eight years, from 1929 to 1937, he worked closely with Amelia Earhart in a number of aviation-related enterprises, and was President Franklin Roosevelt's top civil aviation director from 1933 to 1937.

In his obituary, Time noted: "Eugene Vidal, 73, pioneer promoter of civil aviation and father of author Gore Vidal; in Los Angeles, California. Vidal starred in football at West Point and competed in the decathlon in the Antwerp Olympic Games of 1920.^[2] He later taught aviation and coached football at the academy, resigned his commission in 1926 to become assistant general manager of Transcontinental Air Transport (later TWA)."^[3]

From September 1933 to March 1937 he was Director of the Bureau of Air Commerce (a predecessor of the Federal Aviation Administration) in Washington, where he organized and expanded the government's civil aeronautics program, including creation of the first air traffic control system. Later he served as a director and part owner of Northeast Airlines, and as aviation adviser to the Army Chief of Staff."^[3]

Vidal became one of the pioneers in the commercial aviation industry and was an executive for three airlines during the 1920s and 1930s which developed into TWA, Eastern Airlines, and Northeast Airlines. He was the father of author Gore Vidal.