Clarence Gilbert Taylor (September 8, 1898 – March 29, 1988) was an early aviation entrepreneur and co-founder of the

Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th centur ...

(later named the Piper Aircraft Corporation) in Rochester, New York. He was the designer of the Taylor Cub, which led to the creation of the Piper Cub, one of the most popular airplanes in history.

Biography

Gilbert was born on September 8, 1898 in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

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to Arthur and Clara (née Makin) Taylor, who had immigrated to the United States from Nottingham, England in 1889. He was one of six children that included Gordon A. Taylor (Jan. 15, 1902 — Apr. 24, 1928). Gilbert co-founded the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation with Gordon in 1927. A year later, Gordon was killed, along with an early sales agent for the brothers' aircraft, during a demonstration flight for a prototype of the airplane "Chummy" at the Ford Airport in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

. After his brother's death, Gilbert moved the company to Bradford, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1936. During his time in Bradford, the company was renamed to the Taylor Aircraft Company after investor

William T. Piper William Thomas Piper Sr. (January 8, 1881 – January 15, 1970) was an American airplane manufacturer, aviation businessman, oil industry businessman, and engineer. He was the founding president of the Piper Aircraft Corporation and led the comp ...

bought the assets of the company in 1930. Piper kept Gilbert on as president, but after clashes between the two, Piper bought Gilbert out and he left to start Taylorcraft Aviation in 1935. Two years later, Piper renamed the company to what is now known as

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th centur ...

. It went on to build more than 20,000 Taylor-designed Piper Cubs, the most-produced fabric-covered aircraft of all time.

References

External links

''C. G. Taylor - Pioneers of Flight''
from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Gilbert American aviation businesspeople Aviation pioneers 1898 births 1988 deaths Businesspeople from Rochester, New York Aviators from Pennsylvania Aircraft designers American people of English descent 20th-century American businesspeople