Dodge Morgan

Dodge Morgan
Dodge Morgan (photograph from the Portland Press Herald)
Born	(1932-01-15)January 15, 1932 Malden, Massachusetts
Died	September 14, 2010(2010-09-14) (aged 78) Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality	United States
Known for	First American to sail solo around the globe with no stops

Dodge David Morgan (January 15, 1932 – September 14, 2010) was an American sailor, businessman, publisher and "self-proclaimed contrarian." He flew fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s, worked as a newspaper reporter in Alaska, and became a millionaire by operating a company that manufactured radar detectors from 1971 to 1983. He gained fame in 1986 as the first American to sail solo around the globe with no stops. He also set a world record for eastward sailing when he completed his journey in 150 days, cutting the prior record of 292 days nearly in half. He spent his later years living on a 30-acre island that he purchased in 1998 in Maine's Quahog Harbor.

Morgan was born in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1932. His father, Russell B. Morgan, was a pharmacist who died when Morgan was two or three years old. His mother, Ruth Dodge Morgan remarried, and Morgan recalled having "quite a happy life" with his new family. He described himself as "a lousy student" who devoted most of his time to "sports and other such activities." He also worked at his uncle's boatyard on Cape Cod as a teenager.

On reaching adulthood, Morgan joined the United States Air Force and flew jet fighters. He joined the Air Force, he said, "so I wouldn't have to tell my mother I got kicked out of college." While serving in the Air Force, he once crashed his F-86 Sabre fighter jet. Morgan later recalled that he was trying to land at Presque Isle Air Force Base when his engine flamed out and the plane crashed into the Maine woods. His canopy jammed, and rescuers had to extricate him with an ax. Asked about the threat of fire from the fuel tanks in the jet's wings, Morgan said, "No problem, the wings were about 300 yards behind me when the fuselage finally stopped."

After being discharged from the Air Force, Morgan attended Boston University, where he received a degree in journalism. He married Lael Warren (Morgan) while they were both at BU. They moved to Alaska and worked as a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News.