Walter Thomas Varney (December 26, 1888 – January 25, 1967)Varney Santa Barbara DCT or Obit
Accessed 21 June 2007 was an American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...

pioneer who founded forerunners of two major U.S. airlines,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

United Airlines Websit
Era 2: 1926 - 1933
/ref> and

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...

,Continental Airlines Website
Company History 1934 to 1958
/ref> which combined under

United Continental Holdings United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc., UAL Corporation, Allegis Corporation and founded originally as UAL, Inc.) is a publicly traded airline holding company headquartered in the Willis Tower in Chi ...

long after his death. Varney was also one of the most prominent airmail contractors of the early 20th century. Varney served as a pilot in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the war Varney established an aviation school and air taxi service in northern California.

Aviation career

In October 1925, Varney was awarded one of the first contracts under the recently passed Contract Air Mail Act after the determination was made 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 ...

was not suited for air mail flying. He based his operation, Varney Air Service, in Pasco, Washington, and flew routes between Pasco, and Elko,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, stopping in Boise, Idaho each way. Varney's first airmail flight took off on April 6, 1926. Varney, following a five-company merger, sold the much expanded Varney Air Group in 1930 to United Aircraft and Transport. The company's name was changed to United Air Lines in 1933. Continental Airlines was founded in 1934 by Varney and his partner Louis Mueller as Varney Speed Lines. On July 15, 1934, Varney Speed Lines flew its first trip on a 530-mile route from

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most popu ...

to El Paso,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

with stops in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Santa Fe and

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. Varney ceded control to Mueller in 1934, and in 1936 a controlling interest in the company was sold to Robert Six who renamed it

in 1937, moving its headquarters to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1932, Varney contributed half of the $40,000 needed to purchase the Lockheed division of Detroit Aircraft Corporation out of bankruptcy. The company was reorganized in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

as the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviatio
Lockheed 1 to J
History Notes Varney retired from that company in 1951.

Later years and death

In his later years, Varney suffered from chronic pulmonary emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and valvular heart disease. He lived for a time with the family of his son-in-law, Richard Lambert. He died of bronchial pneumonia on Jan. 25, 1967 at Dani's Nursing Home in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

. He was buried in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California in the Varney family plot.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Walter 1888 births 1967 deaths American aviators Continental Airlines people United Airlines people American airline chief executives Deaths from pneumonia in California Deaths from bronchopneumonia Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Businesspeople from Idaho United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American businesspeople