James Smith "Mac" McDonnell (April 9, 1899 – August 22, 1980) was an American aviator, engineer, and businessman. He was an
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
pioneer and founder of
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...
, later
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...
, and the
James S. McDonnell Foundation
The James S. McDonnell Foundation was founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell. It was established to "improve the quality of life," and does so by contributing to the generation of new knowledge through its support of research and ...
.
Early life
Born in Denver, Colorado, McDonnell was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and graduated from
Little Rock High School
Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The school was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation by ...
in 1917.
He was a graduate of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
class of 1921, and earned a Master's of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
in 1925. While attending MIT he joined the
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek Letter Organizations#Greek letters, Greek-let ...
fraternity. After graduating from MIT, he was hired by
Tom Towle for the
Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company
Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout as the Stout Metal Airplane Co. in 1922. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1924 and later produced th ...
. In 1927, he was hired by the
Hamilton Metalplane Company
Thomas Foster Hamilton (July 28, 1894 – August 12, 1969) was a pioneering aviator and the founder of the Hamilton Standard Company.
Since 1930, Hamilton Standard (now Hamilton Sundstrand) was involved with revolutionizing the propulsion te ...
to develop similar metal monoplanes. He then went on to
Huff Daland Airplane Company.
Career
In 1928, McDonnell left Huff Daland and set up J.S. McDonnell & Associates, and with the help of two other engineers, McDonnell set out to design his first aircraft with his company name. This aircraft then competed in a safe airplane contest which was sponsored by the
Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics
The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics was established by Daniel Guggenheim and his son, Harry Guggenheim on June 16, 1926. Between 1926 and 1930 the fund disbursed $3 million, making grants that established schools or researc ...
and which offered a $100,000 prize for the winning entry. His design was the
Doodle Bug. After the failure of the Doodle Bug to win the contest (the
Curtiss Tanager
The Curtiss Model 54 Tanager was an aircraft constructed in 1929 as Curtiss' entry in the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition.
Design and development
The Model 54 was a conventional biplane design with a highly streamlined fuselage similar in ...
won) or any commercial orders due to the Great Depression, he dissolved his firm and worked for the
Great Lakes Aircraft Company
Great Lakes Aircraft Company is an aircraft manufacturer known for the 2T-1A Sport Trainer biplane. The company has a long history of building both private and military aircraft.
Origins
In 1929, the Great Lakes Aircraft Company (GLAC) was for ...
in 1931 before he was hired as an engineer for the
Glenn L. Martin Company.
McDonnell resigned from Martin in
1938 and founded
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...
in
1939. Headquartered in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, the company quickly grew into a principal supplier of
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
to the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
and
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
—including the
F-4 Phantom II—and built the
Mercury and
Gemini
Gemini may refer to:
Space
* Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
** Gemini in Chinese astronomy
* Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program
* Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Norther ...
space capsules.
In 1967, McDonnell Aircraft merged with the
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...
to create
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...
. Later that year Douglas Aircraft Company's space and missiles division became part of a new subsidiary called
McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, located in
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, producing the
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
series of launch vehicles. The new combined company also developed the
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
and
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...
fighters.
He served as chairman of the
United Nations Association of the United States
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Grassroots, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting political and public support for the United Nations among Americans. A progr ...
, and in 1958 his company became the first organization in the world to celebrate United Nations Day as a paid holiday. In 1980 McDonnell was awarded the
NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering
The NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering, also known as the J.C. Hunsaker Award in Aeronautical Engineering, is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for excellence in the field of aeronautical engineering." Established by Jerome C. ...
from the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
.
He was succeeded as Chair of McDonnell Douglas by his nephew
Sanford N. McDonnell in 1980.
McDonnell Douglas and Boeing consolidated in 1997.
Personal life
James McDonnell was married twice. His first marriage, to Mary Elizabeth Finney, took place in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 30, 1934. They had two children, James Smith McDonnell, III, born January 28, 1936, and
John Finney McDonnell, born March 18, 1938. Mary McDonnell died on July 6, 1949. He married Priscilla Brush Forney on April 1, 1956, and adopted her three children from a previous marriage.
McDonnell died of a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on August 22, 1980. He was buried in
Bellefontaine Cemetery
Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...
in St. Louis.
Legacy
McDonnell founded the
James S. McDonnell Foundation
The James S. McDonnell Foundation was founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell. It was established to "improve the quality of life," and does so by contributing to the generation of new knowledge through its support of research and ...
in 1950, which supports scientific, educational, and charitable causes on a local, national, and international level.
The ''McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences'' is named after him, which he co-founded - established in 1974.
McDonnell Hall, housing part of the physics department at his alma mater, Princeton, also bears his name and an airplane-inspired design.
The six James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professorships at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
were established by a gift from the James S. McDonnell Foundation in memory of James S. McDonnell. Among the Princeton faculty members who have held the professorship are
Val Fitch,
Joseph Taylor,
Anne Treisman
Anne Marie Treisman (née Taylor; 27 February 1935 – 9 February 2018) was an English psychologist who specialised in cognitive psychology.
Treisman researched visual attention, object perception, and memory. One of her most influential ideas ...
,
Curtis G. Callan,
Lyman A. Page,
Eddie S. Glaude
Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (born September 4, 1968) is an American academic. He is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, where he is also the Chair of the Center for African Amer ...
, and numerous others.
Tributes
McDonnell Park in
St. Louis County is named in honor of James Smith McDonnell, as are the McDonnell Planetarium of the
Saint Louis Science Center
The Saint Louis Science Center, founded as a planetarium in 1963, is a collection of buildings including a science museum and planetarium in St. Louis, Missouri, on the southeastern corner of Forest Park. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of o ...
in
Forest Park
A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment.
Examples Chile
* Forest Park, Santiago
China
*Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai
* Mufushan National Fores ...
, the James S. McDonnell classroom and laboratory building at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, the James S. McDonnell Hall at
Washington University in St Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is ...
, and James S. McDonnell Boulevard and James S. McDonnell Prologue Room
near
St. Louis Lambert International Airport
St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state o ...
.
The Arkansas Aviation Historical Society selected McDonnell in 1980 as one of five initial inductees in the
Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.
McDonnell was enshrined in the
National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...
in 1977.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcdonnell, James Smith
1899 births
1980 deaths
American aerospace businesspeople
American aerospace designers
American aerospace engineers
Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery
Businesspeople in aviation
Collier Trophy recipients
Little Rock Central High School alumni
MIT School of Engineering alumni
McDonnell Douglas
Princeton University alumni
American people of Scottish descent
20th-century American engineers
20th-century American businesspeople