William E. Boeing yacht trip photograph albums, 1931-1949

William E. Boeing (1881-1956) moved to Washington state in 1902 from Yale University. He first moved to Hoquiam for the timber industry and started the Greenwood Timber Company and the Boeing & McCrimmon Company. He moved to Seattle in 1908 and joined the University Club - "an exclusive venue for college-trained men on their way up the Northwest business ladder." Boeing had an enthusiasm for flying and took flying lessons from the Glenn L. Martin Flying School in Los Angeles and then purchased one of Martin's own hydroaeroplanes, eventually becoming a pilot. Boeing and a close friend, Conrad Westervelt, believed they could build a better plane than the Martin hydroaeroplane and they eventually started the Pacific Aero Products Company. In 1915, during WWI, Boeing believed that the United States was ill-prepared for a foreign attack and needed more high-quality airplanes for national defense and pressured the U.S. government to invest in airplane production and pilot training. In 1917, Boeing changed the name of his company from Pacific Aero Products Company to Boeing Airplane Company. In 1934, Boeing sold his stock in United Aircraft & Transportation Corporation, pursuing real estate, Wall Street, and horse breeding and racing. Boeing enjoyed horse racing, gold, fishing, and boating and commissioned the construction of the "Taconite," a 125-foot ship he used to travel around the Northwest.

Source: http://www.historylink.org/File/8023