James Albert Whitted
| James Albert Whitted | |
|---|---|
 James Albert Whitted, ca.1917–1918
| |
| Born | February 14, 1893 |
| Died | August 19, 1923 (aged 30) |
| Occupation |
Aviator Pilot |
Lt. James Albert Whitted (February 14, 1893 – August 19, 1923), was an American aviator and St. Petersburg, Florida's best-known pilot. During Whitted's career he ran a commercial air service business, was an instructor at the Naval flight school, and was also an engineer. Whitted was killed in a plane crash near Pensacola, Florida in 1923. St. Petersburg's city airport was subsequently named Albert Whitted Airport in 1928.
James Albert Whitted was born in St Petersburg, Florida on February 14, 1893. Whitted 's father, Thomas Albert Whitted came to the Pinellas County area with his parents from Boone, Iowa in 1878. Albert's mother, formerly Julia Phillips, was the daughter of the Long Key settler Zephaniah Phillips. After their marriage, Thomas and Julia moved to what is now Gulfport, Florida in 1884. There they built a house and had nine children, four of which died at an early age. The third child born was James Albert Whitted.
At a young age Whitted attended local schools in St Petersburg. He also spent time learning mechanics from his father, himself a mechanic. According to Eric Whitted, Albert's nephew, "when Albert was a teenager, he was a projectionist in the old Cameo Theatre. Back in those days, all movie projectors were hand-cranked; because he was constantly reading, Albert rigged up a way to run the projector with a bicycle wheel and motor so he could read. People were really pleased because the film was running much more smoothly. But when his boss came in and saw what he was doing, he fired him." When Whitted graduated from St. Petersburg High School, he established St. Petersburg's first motorcycle shop.
In 1910 Whitted moved to New Haven, Connecticut for a brief period where he took up motorcycle racing While in New Haven, Whitted developed a strong interest in aviation. He acquired a part ownership in a Curtis land machine, which he had helped to build.
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