Samuel L. Higginbottom (October 5, 1921 – November 13, 2016) was an American aerospace businessman. He served as president of

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

and

Rolls-Royce North America Rolls-Royce North America, Inc. is a subsidiary of multinational corporation Rolls-Royce plc. The American unit operates under a Special Security Arrangement which allows it to work independently on some of the most sensitive United States de ...

and was chairman of the board of trustees of Columbia University.

Biography

Higginbottom was born in North Lawrence, Ohio and graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

with a BS in civil engineering in 1943. After graduation, Higginbottom enrolled in the

U.S. 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 ri ...

and served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, earning a

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

. After the war, Higginbottom worked for

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

, becoming senior vice president of engineering and maintenance. He then joined

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

, where he served as president, CEO, and a member of the board of directors from 1970 to 1973. As chief executive, he was responsible for enlarging the airlines' engine service center as well as its business operations during the early 70s. From 1974 to his retirement in 1986, Higginbottom was chairman, President and chief executive officer of

. In 1982, he was appointed chairman of the board of trustees of

, of which he had been a trustee since 1978, and served until 1989. As chairman of the trustees, he was criticized for refusing to divest from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He was made an honorary

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for his work with Rolls-Royce. Higginbottom retired to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, where he remained active in the business world, serving as director of

HEICO HEICO Corporation HEICO Corporation (NYSE: HEI and HEI.A) is an American aerospace and electronics company headquartered in Hollywood, Florida. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes components and systems for a range of industries ...

from 1989 until his death in 2016. He was also a director of

Rolls-Royce Holdings Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and dist ...

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

, the First National Bank of Miami, and was vice chairman of the board of trustees of St. Thomas University in

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

. Higginbottom died on November 13, 2016, at age 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbottom, Samuel L. 1921 births 2016 deaths People from Lawrence County, Ohio Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Trans World Airlines people Eastern Air Lines BAE Systems people American chief executives American airline chief executives American aerospace businesspeople Rolls-Royce people Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire