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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'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
pioneer who founded forerunners of two major U.S. airlines,
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
United Airlines Websit
Era 2: 1926 - 1933
and
Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...
,Continental Airlines Website
Company History 1934 to 1958
/ref> which combined under United Continental Holdings in 2010, long after his death in 1967. 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 The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps, Aer ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. After the war Varney established an aviation school and air taxi service in northern California.


Aviation career

After finishing flight school in 1918, he purchased Lynch Field in Redwood City with the goal of starting a flying school and an air taxi service from San Francisco. 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 ri ...
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 landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, stopping in
Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...
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 List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...
to El Paso,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
with stops in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Santa Fe and Albuquerque
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. Varney ceded control to Mueller in 1934, and in 1936 a controlling interest in the company was sold to Robert Six who renamed it
Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...
in 1937, moving its headquarters to
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. 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 had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
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 (, meaning ) 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 Coast of the United States excepting A ...
. 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