Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr, 1889-1988

maxwell.jpg

Title

Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr, 1889-1988

Subject

Maxwell, Frederick Richard Jr., 1889-1988
Aviation
University of Alabama

Description

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Fred R. Maxwell was the nation’s oldest naval aviator at the time of his death at 99 in 1988.

Maxwell won his aviator’s wings as a World War I reserve officer at the naval air station in Pensacola, Florida, just 15 years after the Wright brothers flew the first heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

He was credited with inaugurating the aeronautical engineering department at the University of Alabama. He was also instrumental in the development of three local airfields, including the one which serves this area today.

Maxwell was the recipient of the first mechanical engineering degree at UA, held the first driver’s license issued in Tuscaloosa County and was the first carilloneur custodian of Denny Chimes.

Maxwell was well known in Tuscaloosa for his contributions to the community’s preservation efforts, including rescuing Clark Hall on the UA campus from demolition in 1948.

An engineer and a professor of engineering, Maxwell continued as a consulting engineer for the University of Alabama for many years after the 70-year-old age limit that mandated his retirement from teaching in 1959.

A 1911 graduate of the University of Alabama, Maxwell went on to receive two masters and an honorary doctoral degree from UA.

Read more about Maxwell at findagrave.com.

Source

Camille Elebash

Contributor

Betty Slowe (Description)

Type

Photograph

Identifier

2311

Coverage

Tuscaloosa (AL)

Original Format

Photograph

Physical Dimensions

8 inches x 10 inches