John Paul Riddle (May 19, 1901 – April 6, 1989) was an American

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and

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 a ...

pioneer, best known for training Allied air crews in WW2 and co-founding what later became Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU).

Personal life

Born on May 19, 1901John P. Riddle (19 May 1901 – 6 April 1989)
Source:

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

. in Pikeville,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. After graduating from Pikeville College, he entered the Naval Academy, but left after a year because he wanted to fly airplanes, which he learned to do with the US Army Air Service in Texas after first learning to overhaul plane engines, allowing him to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming a barnstormer, flying cross country giving rides to people at fairs, having girls write messages on the wings of his Jenny, the plane he loved best. As a young man Paul Riddle was married to and divorced from an opera singer named Grace, whose last name is lost in time, perhaps because they had no children. In 1948 he married Adele Goeser and her four children. They had two more children and were divorced in 1969, but ended up as friends living in the same house in Coral Gables,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

where aged 87 Riddle came down with an illness and died in his sleep a few days later, April 6, 1989. His ashes were scattered over the Atlantic. And he's remembered by a marker at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Arcadia, Florida, surrounded by the honored graves of RAF cadets who died learning to fly.

Embry-Riddle

On December 17, 1925, exactly 22 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight, Riddle and T. Higbee Embry formed the Embry-Riddle Company at

Lunken Airport Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field (Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport) is a public airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, three miles (5 km) east of Downtown Cincinnati. It is owned by the city of Cincinnati and serves private aircr ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Riddle had met Embry two years prior, while Riddle was

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

in Ohio. He had landed at a polo field, offered Embry a ride in his plane, and from then on they were good friends. Riddle was named general manager, and the two began to sell

Waco Aircraft Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

in Cincinnati. In spring of 1926, the Embry-Riddle Company opened the Embry-Riddle Flying School. The school grew rapidly in 1928 and 1929, until the Embry-Riddle Company (now the Embry-Riddle Aviation Corporation) was merged with the Aviation Corporation (AVCO) of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. AVCO phased out the Embry-Riddle Flying School in the fall of 1930. Shortly after, AVCO became American Airways (the predecessor of

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

), and the Embry-Riddle Company was gone. In 1939, Riddle was ready to get back into the business of training pilots. He contacted Embry, who had no interest in reentering a partnership with Riddle. Riddle, now living in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, found a partner in John G. McKay and his wife, Isabel. Keeping the Embry-Riddle name, they reestablished the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation (now the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University), partnering with the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

to provide flight training under the

Civilian Pilot Training Program The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...

, increasing the number of pilots immediately proceeding

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Riddle and McKay also formed the Riddle Aeronautical Institute at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Florida on March 22, 1941 for the purpose of training pilots for the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. A separate division of Embry-Riddle provided technical training in maintenance and metal work. McKay purchased Riddle's share of Embry-Riddle in 1944 and from then on the two co-founders of the original Embry-Riddle were no longer involved.

Other companies

Riddle also founded many other aviation related companies and schools. The J.P. Riddle Company was a school founded in 1939. The flying and technical school was so large that it contracted five flying schools to the US and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

governments. A

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian school, Escola Tecnica de Aviacao, was established in 1943 and was located in

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

. In May 1945, J.P. Riddle Company used some aircraft to relocate American transport instructors to his school in Brazil. This regularly scheduled service was operated by Riddle Airlines, which was incorporated by Riddle.

Use of Riddle's name

* The

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

for aircraft at both ERAU campuses use the phrase "Riddle" followed by the numbers (two at the Prescott campus) in its registration. This call sign can only be used in the local area, as it is under an agreement with local

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

. * The John Paul Riddle Society is a gift society at Embry-Riddle reserved for those who have donated more than $500,000 to the University. * Before its current name,

Airglades Airport Airglades Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Hendry County, Florida, United States. It is located west of the central business district of Clewiston, Florida. Overview The airport has a lighted 5950-foot runway (13-31) and ample ...

Clewiston Clewiston is a city in Hendry County, Florida, United States. Its location is northwest of Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 7,327 at the 2020 census, up from 7,155 at the 2010 census. The estimated population in 2 ...

was known as Riddle Field.

Awards

* Wesley L. McDonald Elder Statesman Award (1986) * Pikeville College Outstanding Alumni Award (1988) * Florida Aviation Hall of Fame

References

External links

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, John Paul 1901 births 1989 deaths Aviators from Kentucky United States Army Air Forces soldiers University of Pikeville alumni United States Naval Academy alumni People from Coral Gables, Florida People from Pikeville, Kentucky Military personnel from Kentucky Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University