Inglis Moore Uppercu (1877–1944) was an American businessman involved in both the automotive and aviation industry. He was the founder and president of Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company.

Early life

Inglis Moore Uppercu was born on September 17, 1877 in North Evanston, IL to Jesse Wheat Uppercu and Laura Isabella (Hildebrant) Uppercu. His family moved to New York City in 1888. Uppercu went to the Polytechnic School of Brooklyn and Columbia University Law School.

Automotive career

Starting in 1896, Uppercu was involved in the automotive industry in the New York and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

area. Working initially for the

Duryea Motor Wagon Company The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles. History Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, the company built the Duryea Motor Wagon, a o ...

and the Neostyle Co., in 1902, he established the Motor Car Co. of New Jersey. Through this company, Uppercu sold Autocar, Cadillac and Packard automobiles in the New York-New Jersey area. In 1908, he acquired the New York City Cadillac dealership and reorganized his automotive operations as the Detroit Cadillac Motor Car Co. Uppercu formed a relationship with the custom coach builder Healey & Co. and by the mid-teens, the Detroit Cadillac Motor Car Co was Healey's largest customer. Many of Healey's custom coaches for Cadillac chassis were designed by Uppercu's manager of his custom body department, J.R. McLauchlen. Healey also built bus bodies for Uppercu's Aeromarine Airways for Cadillac and Packard chassis that were used to shuttle passengers from the city to seaplane bases of the airline. When William Mansfield Healey retired in 1923, Uppercu took over his business and moved it to his

Aeromarine The Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company was an early American aircraft manufacturer founded by Inglis M. Upperçu which operated from 1914 to 1930. From 1928 to 1930 it was known as the Aeromarine-Klemm Corporation. History The beginnings of the ...

aircraft factory in Keyport, NJ, renaming it Healey-Aeromarine Bus Company, which continued bus and automobile coach building until 1926. Uppercu found, rehabilitated and, in 1920, donated an 1893 Duryea automobile to the Smithsonian where it is still on exhibit. In 1931, Uppercu sold his automotive operations to General Motors' Cadillac Motor Car Division.

Aeronautical career

Uppercu's interest in aviation dates to 1908 when he was taken for a flight with Frank Boland in one of his innovative tailless biplanes. Impressed, Uppercu invested in, and was the primary financial backer, of the Boland Airplane and Motor Company. After Frank Boland's death in 1913, Uppercu bought out Boland's widow and Boland's brother Joseph's interest in the Borland Aeroplane and Motor Company and, in 1914, renamed it to Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company. In 1917, Aeromarine was one of the few companies in the country capable of mass-producing aircraft. The

United States 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 ...

, anticipating possible involvement in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and the need for trained pilots, issued one of the first major contracts for 250 aircraft to Aeromarine for its

Aeromarine 39 The Aeromarine 39 was an American two-seat training seaplane ordered by the US Navy in 1917 and built by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company of Keyport, New Jersey. Of conventional biplane configuration and construction, the aircraft was des ...

trainer. After the war, the sell off of cheap military surplus aircraft made it very difficult for aircraft manufacturers and, in 1924, Aeromarine ceased production of aircraft and aircraft engines In 1924, Uppercu formed the Uppercu-Burnelli Airplane Co to develop lifting body aircraft designed by

Vincent Burnelli Vincent Justus Burnelli (November 22, 1895 – June 22, 1964) was an American aeronautics engineer, instrumental in furthering the lifting body and flying wing concept. Biography Burnelli was born on November 22, 1895, in Temple, Texas. ...

. The Aeromarine aircraft patents and designs were transferred to this company. Aeromarine continued as a manufacturer of aircraft instruments and engine starters for the remainder of the 1920s. In 1928, Uppercu and Joseph Boland restarted aircraft production as Aeromarine-Klemm, producing a licensed built version of the

Klemm The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH ("Klemm Light Aircraft Company") was a German aircraft manufacturer noteworthy for sports and touring planes of the 1930s. The company was founded in Böblingen in 1926 by Dr. Hanns Klemm, who had previously work ...

lightweight monoplanes. In 1919, Uppercu formed the genesis of what was to become Aeromarine Airways, by flying sightseeing tours of New York harbor in Aeromarine designed flying boats. Aeromarine Airways became one of the first successful scheduled airline in the United States, using flying boats for regular service from southern

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 ...

to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

and the Caribbean, and from

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. Uppercu was actively involved in the promotion and development of aircraft in the post-war years. He was a founding member of both the Manufacturers Aircraft Association and the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce. Uppercu left the aviation business in 1936 and retired from all business operations in 1938.

Personal life

In 1906, he sold a vehicle to Judge Gottfried Krueger, and married his daughter, Ella Krueger, whom he taught to drive in the vehicle. Together, they had 5 daughters. Uppercu was an avid yachtsman. His personal yacht, the clipper rigged ''Seven Seas'', was kept moored on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. Uppercu passed away in New York City on April 7, 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uppercu, Inglis 1877 births 1944 deaths Columbia Law School alumni American aviation businesspeople American business executives Businesspeople from Evanston, Illinois 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople