Eugene Luther Vidal

Eugene Luther Vidal, Sr.
Eugene Vidal, standing, third from left, with Amelia Earhart, sitting, left
Born	(1895-04-13)April 13, 1895 Madison, South Dakota
Died	February 20, 1969(1969-02-20) (aged 73) Los Angeles, California
Cause of death	Kidney cancer
Spouse(s)	Nina S. Gore (m.1922-1935; divorced) Katharine Roberts (m.1939-1969; his death)
Children	Gore Vidal Gene Vance Vidal Valerie Vidal Hewitt
Parent(s)	Felix Luther Vidal Margaret Ann (née Rewalt)

Eugene Luther "Gene" Vidal (/vᵻˈdɑːl/; April 13, 1895 – February 20, 1969) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, New Deal official, inventor and athlete. He was the father of author Gore Vidal. For eight years, from 1929 to 1937, he worked closely with Amelia Earhart in a number of aviation-related enterprises.

In his obituary, Time noted: "Eugene Vidal, 73, pioneer promoter of civil aviation and father of author Gore Vidal; in Los Angeles, Calif. Vidal starred in football at West Point and competed in the decathlon in the Antwerp Olympic Games of 1920. He later taught aviation and coached football at the academy, resigned his commission in 1926 to become assistant general manager of Transcontinental Air Transport (now TWA)."

From September 1933 to March 1937 he was Director of the Bureau of Air Commerce (a predecessor of the Federal Aviation Administration) in Washington, where he organized and expanded the government's civil aeronautics program, including creation of the first air traffic control system. Later he served as a director and part owner of Northeast Airlines, and as aviation adviser to the Army Chief of Staff."

Vidal became one of the pioneers in the commercial aviation industry and was an executive for three airlines during the 1920s and '30s which developed into TWA, Eastern, and Northeast Airlines.

Vidal was born in 1895 in Madison, South Dakota, the son of Margaret Ann (née Rewalt) and Felix Luther Vidal. He was the second eldest of five children. His paternal grandfather, Eugene Fidel Vidal, was born in Feldkirch, Austria, of Romansh descent, and his paternal grandmother, Emma Hartmann, was Swiss.