John Paul Riddle (May 19, 1901 – April 6, 1989) was an American

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and

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, best known for training Allied air crews in WW2 and co-founding what later became Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). He also founded an airline, initially known as Riddle Airlines, but later as Airlift International, which was one of the first scheduled air freight airlines in the United States.

Personal life

Born on May 19, 1901John P. Riddle (19 May 1901 – 6 April 1989)
Source: Social Security Death Index. in Pikeville,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. After graduating from Pikeville College, he entered the Naval Academy, but left after a year because he wanted to fly airplanes, which he learned to do with the US Army Air Service in Texas after first learning to overhaul plane engines, allowing him to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming a barnstormer, flying cross country giving rides to people at fairs, having girls write messages on the wings of his Jenny, the plane he loved best. As a young man Paul Riddle was married to and divorced from an opera singer named Grace, whose last name is lost in time, perhaps because they had no children. In 1948 he married Adele Goeser and her four children. They had two more children and were divorced in 1969, but ended up as friends living in the same house in

Coral Gables Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Cora ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

where aged 87 Riddle came down with an illness and died in his sleep a few days later, April 6, 1989. His ashes were scattered over the Atlantic. Riddle is remembered by a marker at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Arcadia, Florida, surrounded by the honored graves of RAF cadets who died learning to fly.

Embry-Riddle

On December 17, 1925, exactly 22 years after the

Wright Brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

' first flight, Riddle and T. Higbee Embry formed the Embry-Riddle Company at Lunken Airport in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Riddle had met Embry two years prior, while Riddle was

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

in Ohio. He had landed at a polo field, offered Embry a ride in his plane, and from then on they were good friends. Riddle was named general manager, and the two began to sell Waco Aircraft in Cincinnati. In spring of 1926, the Embry-Riddle Company opened the Embry-Riddle Flying School. The school grew rapidly in 1928 and 1929, until the Embry-Riddle Company (now the Embry-Riddle Aviation Corporation) was merged with the Aviation Corporation (AVCO) of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. AVCO phased out the Embry-Riddle Flying School in the fall of 1930. Shortly after, AVCO became American Airways (the predecessor of

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

), and the Embry-Riddle Company was gone. In 1939, Riddle was ready to get back into the business of training pilots. He contacted Embry, who had no interest in reentering a partnership with Riddle. Riddle, now living in

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 ...

, found a partner in John G. McKay and his wife, Isabel. Keeping the Embry-Riddle name, they reestablished the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation (now the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University), partnering with the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

to provide flight training under the

Civilian Pilot Training Program The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...

, increasing the number of pilots immediately proceeding

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 ...

. Riddle and McKay also formed the Riddle Aeronautical Institute at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Florida on March 22, 1941 for the purpose of training pilots for 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 ...

. A separate division of Embry-Riddle provided technical training in maintenance and metal work. McKay purchased Riddle's share of Embry-Riddle in 1944 and from then on the two co-founders of the original Embry-Riddle were no longer involved.

Other companies

Riddle also founded many other aviation related companies and schools. The J.P. Riddle Company was a school founded in 1939. The flying and technical school was so large that it contracted five flying schools to the US and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

governments. A

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian school, Escola Tecnica de Aviacao, was established in 1943 and was located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In May 1945, J.P. Riddle Company used some aircraft to relocate American transport instructors to his school in Brazil. This regularly scheduled service was operated by Riddle Airlines, which was incorporated by Riddle.

Use of Riddle's name

* The

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

for aircraft at both ERAU campuses use the phrase "Riddle" followed by the numbers (two at the Prescott campus) in its registration. The call sign is recognized by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

and is useable in the entire

National Airspace System The National Airspace System (NAS) is the airspace, navigation facilities and Airport, airports of the United States along with their associated information, services, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, personnel and equipment. It includes c ...

. * The John Paul Riddle Society is a gift society at Embry-Riddle reserved for those who have donated more than $500,000 to the University. * Before its current name, Airglades Airport in Clewiston,

was known as Riddle Field.

Awards

* Wesley L. McDonald Elder Statesman Award (1986) * Pikeville College Outstanding Alumni Award (1988) * Florida Aviation Hall of Fame

References

External links

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, John Paul 1901 births 1989 deaths Aviators from Kentucky United States Army Air Forces soldiers University of Pikeville alumni United States Naval Academy alumni People from Coral Gables, Florida People from Pikeville, Kentucky Military personnel from Kentucky Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University