L.Welch Pogue

Born in Iowa, Pogue eventually attended Harvard Law School, where a noted law Professor and later United States Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter[?], took him in as a protege. As a lawyer, Pogue was entranced by Charles Lindbergh's Trans-Atlantic flight and decided to focus his law career mainly on the "skies".

Pogue joined the Civil Aeronautics Board in 1938, and four years later was appointed Chairman by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Pogue served until 1946. During his tenure Pogue helped strike down a plan for a single world airline, and later resumed his law practice before retiring in 1981, after a career of nearly 60 years.

In 1994 Aviation Week Magazine established the L.Welch Pogue Award for Aviation Achievment, naming Pogue its first recipient.