15 Facts About Dick Merrill

Henry Tyndall "Dick" Merrill was an early aviation pioneer.

In total, Merrill flew over 45,000 hours as pilot in command, covering over eight million miles.

Dick Merrill had from an early age been intrigued by the exploits of the first flyers, and when he enlisted in World War I, he began learning to fly while stationed in France but returned home to work on the Illinois Central Railroad as a fireman.

Dick Merrill began his aviation career in earnest when he purchased a war-surplus Curtiss JN-4 Jenny in Columbus, Georgia, in 1920 for $600, flying it at air shows through the 1920s briefly appearing with the Ivan Gates Air Circus in the mid-1920s.

Dick Merrill eventually turned this into a career as an air mail pilot, flying the Richmond to Atlanta night route.

Dick Merrill always told this story: 'But Captain, you've got a hundred pilots on the line better than me.

Dick Merrill had planned his transatlantic flight for some time but was unable to finance it on his pay as an Eastern Air Lines pilot.

Dick Merrill carried photos of the Hindenburg disaster, which occurred shortly before the flight.

Dick Merrill had not taken the filming seriously but gladly accepted the windfall.

Dick Merrill made two more transatlantic flights, the last of these, on May 14,1937, set the new record at 24 hours, 25 seconds.

Dick Merrill had become a fixture at the parties of the rich and famous, and it was at one of these that he met Toby Wing, a chorus girl who became a movie star, appearing in 52 features and shorts.

Dick Merrill returned to Eastern Air Lines after the war, becoming a senior pilot with the airline.

Dick Merrill was credited with saving the lives of 69 people on board.

Dick Merrill continued flying for pleasure into his 80s, setting several additional records.

Dick Merrill is buried at Christ Church Kingston Parish Cemetery, Mathews, Virginia.