Frank Ford Russell (1904-1969) was the son of

Frank Henry Russell Frank Henry Russell (July 17, 1878 – August 4, 1947) was an American aviation pioneer and the first General Manager of the Wright Brothers Company at Dayton, Ohio. He went on to co-found the Burgess Company and the Manufacturers Aircraft Ass ...

. He was an intercollegiate wrestling champion for

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and was elected captain of its wrestling team in 1924. He was posthumously inducted into the

Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) is an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling conference. It held its first championship tournament in 1905, making it the oldest wrestling conference in the NCAA; the charter members were Colum ...

Hall of Fame. Russell also rowed with the famed Yale Eight crew that won the 1924 Olympics (see Rowing at the Olympics,) although his wrestling schedule ultimately forestalled participation in the Olympic campaign. He was a member of the Skull and Bones Society. He was graduated from Yale in 1926 and after a short stint on Wall Street, entered the aviation business, avoiding work with any company associated with his father to avoid presumptions of nepotism. By the end of the 1930s, he was President of National Aviation Corporation. During World War II, Russell was one of the "Dollar-A-Year" men who left lucrative professions to work for that nominal amount in support of America's war effort. He served as President of the National Aviation War Production Council. The Council was an adjunct to the

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...

specifically tasked with coordinating aircraft production. Later Russell resumed his business career as president, later chairman, of Cerro Corporation. He was a director of Bell Aviation, Otis Elevator, the Chase Manhattan Bank, Lockheed Inc., Glen L. Martin Co., Worthington Corporation, and National Sulfur Corp. He was a trustee of

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...

and president of the

Independent School League Independent School League or ISL may refer to: * Independent School League (Illinois), a group of nine Chicago-area preparatory schools * Independent School League (New England), a group of 16 New England preparatory schools * Independent School Le ...

References

* Eastern Independent Wrestling Association biograph

* Obituary, New York Times, 29 March 196

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Frank Ford 1904 births 1969 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Yale University alumni