Myers, Henry T. (Henry Tift), 1907-1968

Henry Tift Myers, Sr. was born in Tifton, Georgia, on September 16, 1907. The nephew of Captain Henry Harding Tift, the New England-bred founder of Tifton, Georgia, Myers attended Atlanta's Tech High School and the Culver Military Academy in Indiana, where he graduated in 1925. He attended the University of Georgia, where he was a fullback on the football team and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. After receiving his degree in 1929 he entered the Army Air Corps. After completing his flight training at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas and at Selfridge Field in Michigan, Myers worked for American Airlines. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was ordered back into the Army Air Corps as aide to General Harold S. George of Air Transport Command. Soon after, on General George's recommendation, he was appointed the first Presidential pilot in 1942, and served in this capacity until 1947. He was the captain of "The Sacred Cow" and "The Independence," the predecessors to Air Force One, and he was responsible for transporting Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and their families within the United States and abroad. Myers was also frequently charged with transporting members of Congress, high ranking military officers, visiting royalty, and other VIPs and guests of the United States government, including Dwight Eisenhower, Madame Chiang, wife of Chiang Kai-shek, Mexican President Miguel Alemán, and Winston Churchill, among others. During his years as a pilot Myers also set numerous world records. He was the first pilot to circumnavigate the globe at the equator; he was the first American pilot after Lindbergh to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. His ten-year air transport speed record was broken by Howard Hughes in 1944. As a result of his high profile career, Myers also maintained a modicum of celebrity. He hobnobbed with Hollywood actors and actresses, and was frequently profiled in magazines and newspapers. In December 1945 Myers married Maidee Williams of Dallas, Texas. The couple had a son, Henry Tift Myers, Jr., in 1947. In 1968, at age 61, Myers died of congestive heart failure. He is buried in Tifton, Georgia.

From the description of Henry Tift Myers, Sr. papers, 1931-1968, bulk 1943-1947. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 401702648