Biographical Sketches

WILLIAM BUSHNELL STOUT

Born: March 16, 1880    In: Quincy, IL
Died: March 20, 1956    In: Phoenix, AZ

William Bushnell Stout, 76, pioneer automotive and aviation inventor. He was prominent in Detroit from 1914 until he moved to Phoenix after WW2 years ago. Stout designed the classic Ford Tri-Motor plane; built the first all-metal plane for the Navy, built the first commercial monoplane, operated the first exclusive passenger air service in 1926, and was active in civic life in Detroit. The mop-haired inventor, who good-naturedly said he frequently had been called a "screwball" because of his advanced engineering ideas, adapted aircraft principles to auto motive design in the construction of his "Scarab" car, a rear-engine, plastic-bodied vehicle. He frequently said a combination automobile-airplane would become commonplace. Stout was an engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota. He had been a newspaper columnist, editor of automotive magazines and chief engineer for a Detroit motorcar manufacturing company. His accomplishments included development of small pancake engines, folding portable houses, a pusher-type plane and numerous other items. He was an accomplished pianist and a pen and ink artist. He was a former president of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Denotes an individual known to have soloed an aircraft prior to December 16, 1917, whether they were members of the "Early Birds of Aviation" Organization or not.