Collett E. Woolman
| Collett E. Woolman | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 8, 1889 Bloomington, Indiana |
| Died |
September 11, 1966 (aged 76) Houston, Texas |
| Occupation | CEO |
| Known for | Founder of Delta Air Lines |
Collett Everman Woolman (October 8, 1889 – September 11, 1966) was one of four founders of Delta Air Service, the airline now known as Delta Air Lines.
Woolman was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States but grew up in Urbana, Illinois, where he attended high school.
Between college semesters in 1909, Woolman attended the world's first aviation meet in Rheims, France where his passion for aviation began.
He graduated from the University of Illinois, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in agriculture. Woolman married Helen H. Fairfield in 1916 with whom he had two daughters. By 1920, they had moved to Monroe in northeastern Louisiana. Woolman was 76 years old when he died in 1966 in Houston, Texas.
Shortly after graduating from college, Woolman became an Agricultural Extension Agent at Louisiana State University. At the time, the Southern United States was battling a cotton-destroying pest, the boll weevil. Woolman assisted Dr. B. R. Coad, a United States Department of Agriculture entomologist, in his fight against the boll weevil. Coad was using calcium arsenate to rid the cotton plants of boll weevils, but the application of the dry powder was difficult to apply to the fields. Woolman, Coad, and their team began using army-loaned aircraft and pilots to conduct dusting experiments from the air. Huff-Daland Aero Corporation, an aircraft manufacturer, took notice of their experiments and decided to form a new division for crop dusting. Woolman was chosen to lead the new division, called Huff Daland Dusters, and eventually became vice president and general manager. In 1925, the headquarters were moved to Monroe, Louisiana and their fleet grew to 18 aircraft.
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