119 Facts About Eddie Rickenbacker

Eddie Rickenbacker was a racing driver, an automotive designer, and a long-time head of Eastern Air Lines.

Eddie Rickenbacker was the third of eight children born to German-speaking Swiss immigrants, Lizzie and Wilhelm Rickenbacher.

Later in life, he changed the spelling of his last name to Eddie Rickenbacker and adopted a middle name, Vernon.

Eddie Rickenbacker's father worked for breweries and street-paving crews and his mother Lizzie took in laundry to supplement the family income.

Eddie Rickenbacker helped in the garden where the family grew potatoes, cabbages, and turnips and cared for the family's chickens, goats, and pigs.

Eddie Rickenbacker earned money by delivering papers, setting up pins at a bowling alley, and selling scavenged goods.

Eddie Rickenbacker gave most of his earnings to his mother but spent some on Bull Durham tobacco, a habit he picked up from his older brother Bill.

Eddie Rickenbacker's brother rescued him from a passing coal car twice.

Eddie Rickenbacker came to believe that God had repeatedly saved him for a higher purpose.

Young Eddie Rickenbacker had an artistic side and enjoyed painting watercolors of animals, flowers, and scenery.

Eddie Rickenbacker tried to design a perpetual motion machine, but, his father berated him for wasting time on an invention with no purpose.

Eddie Rickenbacker was "sort of the leader" of the Horsehead Gang, with whom he smoked, played hooky, and broke streetlamps.

Eddie Rickenbacker's assailant was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Eddie Rickenbacker dropped out of the seventh grade and went to work full-time, lying about his age to work around child labor laws.

Eddie Rickenbacker worked eight different jobs during the next two years.

Back in Columbus, Eddie Rickenbacker followed his mentor to the Columbus Buggy Company as a chief testing engineer, supervising upwards of a dozen men in his department.

Eddie Rickenbacker solved the problem and stayed on to head up Columbus Buggy's Dallas agency.

At nineteen, Eddie Rickenbacker was in charge of six men, covering sales, distribution, and maintenance of Firestone-Columbus automobiles in four states.

Eddie Rickenbacker failed to finish in his first automobile race after crashing through an outer fence.

Eddie Rickenbacker quit his sales job and went on the county fair circuit with a Flying Squadron team.

Eddie Rickenbacker was barred from the track for the next twelve months.

In September 1915, Eddie Rickenbacker received financial backing from Indianapolis Speedway owner Carl Fisher and his partner, Fred Allison.

Eddie Rickenbacker needed a win at the Indianapolis Harvest 100 to take first place.

Eddie Rickenbacker had the lead in the penultimate lap but had driven his car into the ground.

Eddie Rickenbacker was now one of the most famous race car drivers in America and was earning $40,000 a year.

In England, Eddie Rickenbacker worked at the Sunbeam shop in Wolverhampton during the week and spent weekends at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Eddie Rickenbacker began to consider a role in aviation if the United States entered the European war.

The month before, while he had been in Los Angeles, Eddie Rickenbacker had had two chance encounters with aviators.

In late May 1917, a week before he was to race in Cincinnati, Rickenbacker was invited to sail to England with General John J Pershing.

Eddie Rickenbacker earned the rank of Sergeant First Class but never drove for General Pershing.

Miller asked Eddie Rickenbacker to be the chief engineer at the flight school and aerodrome he was establishing at Issoudun.

Eddie Rickenbacker bargained for the chance to learn to fly at the French flight school outside Toul.

Eddie Rickenbacker received five weeks of training or 25 hours in the air in September 1917.

In January 1918, Eddie Rickenbacker finagled his way into a release for gunnery school, the final step to becoming a pursuit pilot.

Eddie Rickenbacker earned the respect of the other fliers, who called him "Rick".

However, Eddie Rickenbacker was not perfect: he almost fired on friendly planes several times, his gun jammed, and he nearly crashed when his Nieuport's fabric wing tore off in a dive.

Eddie Rickenbacker was out of the hospital in time for the St Mihiel offensive based out of Rembercourt Aerodrome on September 12,1918.

Eddie Rickenbacker chose Lieutenant Rickenbacker over several captains as the new commander of the 94th Squadron.

Eddie Rickenbacker went to work turning his men "back into a team".

Eddie Rickenbacker gathered his pilots and exhorted them to stay focused on their mission.

Eddie Rickenbacker was determined to "blind the eyes of the enemy" by taking out their observation balloons.

Eddie Rickenbacker led planning sessions for multi-squadron raids of as many as fourteen planes.

Eddie Rickenbacker inculcated into the squadron with his new principles of engagement, which germinated while he was confined in the hospital: Never attack unless there is at least a fifty-fifty chance of success, always break off an engagement that seems hopeless, and know the difference between cowardice and common sense.

Eddie Rickenbacker continued to fly aggressively, but with calculated caution.

Eddie Rickenbacker brought down fifteen aircraft in the final six weeks of the war.

Eddie Rickenbacker received the Distinguished Service Cross a record number of eight times.

Eddie Rickenbacker brought down 26 aircraft during the war, making him the United States ace of aces for the war.

Eddie Rickenbacker turned down several endorsement offers and an opportunity to star in a feature film.

Eddie Rickenbacker said producer Carl Laemmle "shoved a hundred-thousand-dollar certified check under my nose".

Eddie Rickenbacker turned down these opportunities because he did not want to cheapen his image.

Eddie Rickenbacker signed a book deal worth $25,000, publishing his memoir of the war, Fighting the Flying Circus.

Eddie Rickenbacker contracted for a speaking tour for $10,000; still in the Army, Eddie Rickenbacker used this tour to promote liberty bonds.

Eddie Rickenbacker had a name he could capitalize on in any business he chose.

Eddie Rickenbacker resorted to his promotional abilities to generate public and governmental enthusiasm, but with limited success.

In 1925, Rickenbacker was a defense witness, along with Hap Arnold, Tooey Spaatz, Ira Eaker, and Fiorello H La Guardia, in the court-martial of General Billy Mitchell.

In October 1919, Rickenbacker accepted an offer from millionaire Byron F Everitt of Everitt-Metzger-Flanders to develop a new car under the name Rickenbacker Motor Company.

Eddie Rickenbacker designed the car, with Ray McNamara developing its core engineering.

Eddie Rickenbacker blamed sales problems on a concerted industry media attack led by Studebaker.

RMC declined when Eddie Rickenbacker failed to fully focus on RMC and continued work on aviation.

Eddie Rickenbacker's focus shifted to creating a light plane that would be affordable for private ownership.

In 1926, Eddie Rickenbacker started Florida Airways, with wartime comrade Reed Chambers.

On November 1,1927, Eddie Rickenbacker purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Carl Fisher for $700,000.

Eddie Rickenbacker considered his salary of $5,000 a year and the opportunities for public relations to be more valuable than the $700,000 in debt he incurred.

Eddie Rickenbacker drove the speedway's pace car for several years.

Eddie Rickenbacker operated the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for more than ten years, overseeing many improvements to the facility.

Eddie Rickenbacker was responsible for the first radio broadcast of the Memorial Day 500 race.

In 1945, Eddie Rickenbacker sold the racetrack to the businessman Anton Hulman Jr.

Eddie Rickenbacker spent the first eight months of 1921 in California, creating a network of dealerships.

Eddie Rickenbacker often traveled between cities by plane, a leased Bellanca.

In January 1928, Eddie Rickenbacker became assistant general manager for sales at GM for its Cadillac and LaSalle models.

Eddie Rickenbacker convinced GM to purchase Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America, the designer of the fighter planes he once faced on the Western Front.

Eddie Rickenbacker became the vice president for governmental relations for American Airways, part of American Air Transport.

At the time, Eddie Rickenbacker was vice president of Eastern Air Transport, one of the companies affected.

Eddie Rickenbacker became an outspoken critic of Roosevelt's New Deal policies, seeing them as little better than socialism.

Eddie Rickenbacker called upon his connections to achieve a merger of Eastern Air Transport with Florida Airways, forming Eastern Air Lines.

In early 1935, Eddie Rickenbacker became general manager of Eastern Air Lines.

Eddie Rickenbacker oversaw many radical changes in the field of commercial aviation.

Eddie Rickenbacker negotiated with the US government to acquire air mail routes, a great advantage to companies that needed regular income.

Eddie Rickenbacker bought larger and faster airliners, including the four-engine Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-4.

Eddie Rickenbacker collaborated with pioneers of aviation design, including Donald W Douglas, the founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company and the designer and builder of the DC-4, DC-6, DC-7, and DC-8.

Eddie Rickenbacker scripted the popular Sunday comic strip, Ace Drummond, from 1935 to 1940 for King Features Syndicate.

Eddie Rickenbacker worked with aviation artist and author Clayton Knight, who illustrated the series.

Between 1935 and 1940, Knight and Eddie Rickenbacker created another Sunday comic strip for King Features.

Eddie Rickenbacker was one of a few celebrities who participated in campaigns to rally World War I veterans to the British cause before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Eddie Rickenbacker encouraged the American public to contribute time and resources and pledged Eastern Air Lines equipment and personnel for use in military activities.

In 1942, with a letter of authorization from Henry L Stimson, US Secretary of War, Rickenbacker visited England on an official war mission and made ground-breaking recommendations for better war operations.

Eddie Rickenbacker inspected troops, operations, and equipment, serving in a publicity role to increase support from civilians and soldiers.

Eddie Rickenbacker captured it, and the bird became both a meal for the men and fishing bait.

The US Army Air Forces and the US Navy's patrol planes planned to abandon the search for the lost B-17 crewmen after just over two weeks, but Eddie Rickenbacker's wife convinced them to search for another week.

Eddie Rickenbacker had lost 40 pounds, but after a few days of rest, Rickenbacker completed his assignment and delivered his message to General MacArthur.

In 1943, Eddie Rickenbacker wrote Seven Came Through about his experience, saying he was lost for 21 days.

Eddie Rickenbacker corrected the number to 24 days in his 1967 autobiography.

Still determined to support the war effort, Eddie Rickenbacker suggested a fact-finding mission in the Soviet Union to provide the Soviets with technical assistance with their American aircraft.

Stimson assigned Eddie Rickenbacker to visit the bases and production facilities in the Aleutian Islands, Burma, China, India, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Soviet Union.

Eddie Rickenbacker made observations at every stop and reviewed American operations with a critical eye, forwarding reports to authorities.

Eddie Rickenbacker befriended many Soviet officials and shared his knowledge of the aircraft they had received from the United States.

Eddie Rickenbacker was lavishly entertained by the Soviets and recalled attempts by NKVD agents to get him intoxicated enough to disclose sensitive information.

Eddie Rickenbacker persuaded his hosts to give him an unprecedented tour of the Shturmovik aircraft factory.

However, Eddie Rickenbacker made comments during his trip that alerted the Soviets to the existence of the secret B-29 Superfortress program.

Eddie Rickenbacker was forced out of his position as CEO on October 1,1959.

At the age of 73, Eddie Rickenbacker resigned as the chairman of the board on December 31,1963.

Eddie Rickenbacker shared his vision for the future of technology and commerce, exhorting Americans to respect the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but still uphold American values.

In 1967, Eddie Rickenbacker published his autobiography, giving a special edition to the employees of Eastern Air Lines.

Eddie Rickenbacker's father-in-law stepped in to allow her to live independently, buying her a comfortable home and giving her $220,000 in equities, half being GM stock.

Eddie Rickenbacker saw Adelaide again in New York in 1921 and was smitten.

Eddie Rickenbacker finalized her divorce in July 1922, and the two were married on September 16,1922, in Cumberland Presbyterian Church of South Beach, Connecticut.

New York City was Eddie Rickenbacker's favored home base and remained the couple's primary residence for the rest of their lives, along with their second home in Key Biscayne.

On February 26,1941, Eddie Rickenbacker was a passenger on Eastern Air Lines Flight 21 on a Douglas DC-3 airliner that crashed outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Eddie Rickenbacker barely survived being soaked in fuel and trapped in the wreckage.

Eddie Rickenbacker's injuries included a fractured skull, a shattered left elbow with a crushed nerve, a paralyzed left hand, several broken ribs, a crushed hip socket, a pelvis broken in two places, a severed nerve in his left hip, a broken left knee, and his left eyeball was out of its socket.

Eddie Rickenbacker was in critical condition at Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital for ten days.

Eddie Rickenbacker later noted the supreme act of will that it took to stave off dying.

Eddie Rickenbacker was an avid golfer, often playing at the Siwanoy Country Club course near his home in Bronxville.

Eddie Rickenbacker is one of a very select few members who were granted honorary lifetime membership.

In 1972, Eddie Rickenbacker had a stroke that left him in a coma for a short time.

Eddie Rickenbacker recovered and traveled to Zurich, Switzerland, in July 1973, seeking medical treatments for his wife's failing vision.

Eddie Rickenbacker was interred in Columbus, Ohio, at Green Lawn Cemetery.

When he died, Eddie Rickenbacker was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from the United States Army Air Service.

Eddie Rickenbacker died by suicide via gunshot at their home in Key Biscayne, Florida, at the age of 92.