DOUGLAS

The Douglas Aircraft Company was a past American aerospace and defense company with headquarters in Southern California. The company was established in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. Following the dissolution of the Davis-Douglas Company. The company gained early popularity following the first circumnavigation of the world by air in Douglas airplanes in 1924. In 1967, the company merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation to form McDonnell Douglas, which operated as a division of McDonnell Douglas. Later, McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997. The success of the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) project in 1924 helped establish the Douglas Aircraft Company’s reputation as one of the major aircraft companies worldwide. After the success of the project, the US Army Air Service put in orders for six similar aircraft as observation aircraft, which played a crucial role in building its reputation and adopting the motto “First Around the World – First the World Around”. The founders of the company were Bill Bridgeman, LaVerne Ward Browne, Carl Cover, Ed Heinemann, and Ted R. Smith.