Hugh Herndon, Jr.

Hugh was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1899, the son of Hugh Herndon Sr., an attorney, and Alice Carter Herndon, heiress to the Tidewater Associated Oil Company. He attended Princeton University, then learned to fly while on a trip to France in the late 1920s. Herndon and Pangborn met in the exhibition/stunt flyer world that both were exploring in the pre-airline years after World War I.

The two flyers became friends, then partners when they decided to attempt to best the round-the-world record of 20 days set by the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin in 1929. Herndon convinced his family to back the venture and the RTW (Round-The-World) Corporation was formed to finance the flight. Herndon provided the money, Pangborn the expertise.

After the trans-Pacific flight success the pair split, but both continued in aviation. Herndon flew for New York state for a while, and then for the new Trans World Airlines. He eventually became TWA Operations Manager based in Cairo, Egypt. He died there in 1952 of heart problems.