David Harold "Dry Hole" Byrd (24 April 1900 – 14 September 1986) was a noted

Texan Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the 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 west, and has an international border wit ...

producer of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

, and a co-founder of the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

. Byrd's cousin, polar explorer

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

, named Antarctica's

Harold Byrd Mountains The Harold Byrd Mountains () are a group of exposed mountains and nunataks which extend in an east–west direction between the lower part of Leverett Glacier and the head of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. They were discovered in December 1929 ...

for him.

Personal background

Byrd was born in

Detroit, Texas Detroit is a town in Red River County, Texas, United States. The population was 704 at the 2020 census. Notable person John Nance Garner, 32nd Vice President of the United States, was born outside of Detroit but lived most of his life in Uval ...

on April 24, 1900, the youngest of eight children of Mary Easley Byrd and Edward Byrd, and grew up in Texas and Oklahoma.Texas State Historical Association
BYRD, DAVID HAROLD
/ref> Byrd's cousin, polar explorer

, named Antarctica's

for him, after Byrd had contributed to the expedition that found them. Another cousin (Richard's brother) was Harry F. Byrd, who became a Democratic Party Governor of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and a leading conservative US Senator. Byrd worked in the

Burkburnett, Texas Burkburnett () is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 10,939 at the 2020 census. History Originally settled by ranchers as early as 1856, thi ...

oilfield before attending Trinity University in 1917 and studying

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1919–1921. During the summer vacations he worked at an oilfield in

Santa Anna, Texas Santa Anna is a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States. Its population was 1,014 at the 2020 census. Geography Santa Anna is located in east central Coleman County. Three U.S. highways pass through the center of town. U.S. Ro ...

. Byrd married twice; on June 8, 1935, he married Mattie Caruth (March 7, 1908 to February 15, 1972) and again on February 14, 1974 – on her birthday – to the widow Mavis Barnett Heath (February 14, 1908 to April 9, 1998) following the death of his first wife in 1972. He had two sons from his first marriage. The two sons were David Harold Byrd Jr. and Caruth Clark Byrd. Mavis Barnett Heath was the widow of

William Womack Heath William Womack Heath, (December 7, 1903 – June 22, 1971), was an American lawyer, educator, and diplomat. Personal background William W. Heath was born in Normangee, Texas, to John Al and Runie (Née Hill) Heath. On July 14, 1929, William W ...

(December 7, 1903 to June 22, 1971) and this couple were close friends to

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and his wife,

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...

. This Heath couple were instrumental in bringing the

LBJ Library The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, also known as the LBJ Presidential Library, is the presidential library and museum of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States (1963–1969). It is located on the grounds of ...

to the

. On September 14, 1986, David Harold 'Dry Hole' Byrd died while living in the City of Dallas,.

Oil business career

After graduation, Byrd worked for H.E. Humphreys, and as a geological oil scout for several oil companies including

Old Dominion Oil Company Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

of San Antonio before becoming, in 1925, an independent consultant and driller in

Brownwood, Texas Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,862 as of th2020 census Brownwood is in the Texas Hill Country and is home to Howard Payne University, which was founded in 1889. History ...

. Here he acquired his "dry hole" nickname by drilling 56 wells that produced no oil. Then, on 28 May 1928, he drilled two productive wells in the Byrd-Daniels Oil Field on the same day. One of those wells produced 1,000 barrels per day at a selling price of $3 a barrel. In 1931, Byrd founded Byrd-Frost Incorporated with Jack Frost, which operated 492 East Texas wells that produced an average of 4,000 barrels a day. In the 1930s he purchased the

Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, later known as the Dallas County Administration Building and now "The Sixth Floor Museum", is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point du ...

in Dallas, scene of the 1963 assassination of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

Aviation business

During this period Byrd became very interested in aviation. In 1938 he was named to the

Texas Civil Aeronautics Commission 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 ...

by Texas Governor James V. Allred, and was involved in founding the

(CAP) in September 1941. During

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 ...

Byrd commanded a CAP anti-submarine base at

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

. After the war Byrd helped incorporate CAP and have it designated as an Auxiliary of the Air Force, helped initiate the

International Air Cadet Exchange The International Air Cadet Exchange is an annual student exchange program designed to promote character, good-will, and cooperation among the world's civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary aviation programs. Participants come from organizations such ...

, and established or supported cadet scholarships. For his work with the CAP Byrd was awarded the US Air Force's

Air Force Scroll of Appreciation Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Air Force are military decorations which are issued by the Department of the Air Force to airmen of the United States Air Force and guardians of the United States Space Force and members ...

on 24 May 1963.Byrd (1978), ''I'm an Endangered Species'', pp. 101-02; Scroll of Appreciation notice cite
here
/ref>

LTV

In 1944 Byrd founded Byrd Oil Corporation, which was later sold to

Mobil Oil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after it and Mobil merged in 1999. A direct descenda ...

. That year he also founded B.H. Drilling Corporation. Byrd's Three States Natural Gas Company was sold to Delhi-Taylor Oil Corporation in 1961. In 1952 Byrd established the Three States Natural Gas Company, which he later sold to Delhi-Taylor, using the money to invest in aircraft production, co-founding

Temco Aircraft The Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO), also known as Temco Aircraft Corporation, was a U.S.-based manufacturing company located in Dallas, Texas, USA. It is best known for eventually forming part of the conglomerate Ling-Temco- ...

, which in 1961 merged with friend

James Ling James Joseph "Jimmy" Ling (December 31, 1922 – December 17, 2004) was an American businessman and former head of Ling-Temco-Vought corporation. While at its helm, Ling used LTV funds to purchase a large number of corporations, and was one of ...

's electronics company and aircraft manufacturer Chance Vought Corporation to form

Ling-Temco-Vought Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2001. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, ...

(LTV).

Books

* ''I'm an Endangered Species: The Autobiography of a Free Enterpriser'', Pacesetter Press, 1978,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, David Harold American aerospace businesspeople American businesspeople in the oil industry American petroleum geologists 1900 births 1986 deaths University of Texas at Austin alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American geologists