Clement Melville Keys
Clement Melville Keys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 7, 1876 Chatsworth, Ontario |
| Died | January 12, 1952 (aged 75) New York, New York |
| Education | University of Toronto |
| Occupation | Financier |
Clement Melville Keys (April 7, 1876 – January 12, 1952) was a financier who was involved in the establishment of many aviation companies including
Biography
Keys was born in
One of Keys's former students, Casey Baldwin, had remained in contact. Baldwin and university classmate Douglas McCurdy had been involved in Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Experiment Association, along with Thomas Selfridge and Glenn Curtiss. In 1916, Curtiss approached McCurdy for financial advice in reorganizing his company. McCurdy put Curtiss in touch with Keys, and as a result the latter became an unpaid vice-president for Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company.[3] In 1920, Keys assumed controlling interest of the financially troubled company. The company merged with Wright Aeronautical in 1929 to form Curtiss-Wright with Keys as the new company's president.
In 1924, Keys invested $10,000,000 in capital to fund National Air Transport with Paul Henderson, the former Assistant Postmaster General.[4]
In June 1929, Keys personally bought all shares of
In 1928, Keys set up
In 1932, Keys withdrew from the aviation business citing health reasons, but in fact the directors of North American Aviation had discovered that he had embezzled funds in order to settle personal debts incurred from his private speculation in stocks and shares. Nonetheless, he maintained his investment business. In 1942, he went back to the aviation business establishing the C.M. Keys Aircraft Service Company and after World War II helped organize Peruvian International Airways in 1947.[6]
He died at his home in New York City on January 12, 1952.[7]
References
- ^ Harry Bruno (1944) Wings over America, page 322, Halcyon Press
- ^ Beattie, Kim (1963). Ridley, the story of a school. St. Catharines, Ontario: Ridley College. p. 165.
- ^ "The Harriman of Aviation". Review of Reviews. August 1929.
- ^ "Maddux Air Lines 1927-1929". AAHS Journal. Summer 1997.
- ^ F. Robert van der Linden (2002). Airlines and air mail: the post office and the birth of the commercial.
- ^ Aviation History - July '07 article on TAT
- ^ "Clement M. Keys". New York Daily News. January 13, 1952. p. 79. Retrieved July 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Clement Melville Keys Archived July 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine from National Air and Space Museum
- Clement M. Keys at China National Aviation Corporation memorial website