Errett Lobban Cord

Errett Lobban Cord, known as E. L. Cord, was born on 20 July 1894 and died on 2 January 1974. He was an American business executive who was considered a leader in United States transport during the early and middle twentieth century. In 1929 he founded the Cord Corporation as a holding company for more than 150 companies he controlled, mostly in transportation, including the Auburn Automobile Company, which built Auburn and Cord automobiles, Lycoming Engines, Duesenberg Inc., New York Shipbuilding, Checker Motors, Stinson Aircraft Company and American Airways, later American Airlines. In 1932 he formed the Aircraft Development Corporation, which was instrumental in the development of the Vultee V-1.