Elrey Jeppesen, 1907-1996
Elrey Jeppesen was part of the 'golden age' of American aviation. He was a daredevil barnstormer, a courageous airmail pilot, and a United Airlines pilot for 24 years. And yet, his greatest achievement was in air safety. Jeppesen developed charts of the terrain and emergency landing fields for pilots, greatly increasing air safety. In 1943, he founded a business to publish and sell aviation charts. Today, those charts are used by pilots worldwide. His company is now known as Jeppesen and Company, located in Denver, Colorado.