View source for C. R. Smith

{{short description|American businessman, general, and cabinet member}}
{{for|the American engineer|C.R. Smith (engineer)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image        = CyrusRowlettSmith.jpg
|office       = 18th [[United States Secretary of Commerce]]
|president    = [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]]
|term_start   = March 6, 1968
|term_end     = January 19, 1969
|predecessor  = [[Alexander Trowbridge]]
|successor    = [[Maurice Stans]]
|birth_name   = Cyrus Rowlett Smith
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1899|9|9}}
|birth_place  = [[Minerva, Texas]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1990|4|4|1899|9|9}}
|death_place  = [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], [[Maryland]], U.S.
|restingplace = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = Elizabeth Manget
|children     = 1
|education    = [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas, Austin]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}
|allegiance   = {{flag|United States}}
|branch       = {{army|United States}}
|serviceyears = 1942–1945
|rank         = [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|33px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major general]]
|commands     = 
|unit         = 
|battles      = [[World War II]]
|mawards      = [[Distinguished Unit Citation]]<ref name="Texas">{{cite web |title=Cyrus Rowlett Smith (1899–1990) |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/smith-cyrus-rowlett |website=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=13 December 2020}}</ref><br/>[[Air Medal]]<ref name=Texas/><br/>[[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]]<ref name=Texas/><br/>[[Legion of Merit]]<ref name=Texas/><br/>[[Order of the British Empire|Commander-Order of the British Empire]]<ref name=Museum/>
}}

'''Cyrus Rowlett''' '''Smith''' (September 9, 1899 – April 4, 1990) was the CEO of [[American Airlines]] from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974. He was also the wartime deputy commander of the [[Air Transport Command (United States Air Force)|Air Transport Command]] during [[World War II]], and the [[United States Secretary of Commerce]] for a brief period under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. He is regarded as one of the titans of U.S. airline history.

==Early life==
Smith was born on September 9, 1899, in [[Minerva, Texas]], located in [[Milam County, Texas|Milam County]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smyrl|first1=Vivian Elizabeth|title=Minerva, TX|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnm48|website=Handbook of Texas Online|date=15 June 2010|publisher=Texas State Historical Society|access-date=18 September 2017}}</ref> to Roy Edgerton Smith and the former Marion Burck.  Smith attended the [[University of Texas]] despite never having graduated from high school.<ref name="Hoover">{{cite web |last1=Hoover |first1=Gary |title=Proud Father of the Modern Airline System: CR Smith and American Airlines |url=https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/2020/01/28/proud-father-of-the-modern-airline-system-cr-smith-and-american-airlines/ |website=Archbridge Institute |date=28 January 2020 |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref>

Upon his graduation, Smith worked as an accountant for the accounting firm of [[KPMG|Peat Marwick Mitchell]]. Smith later ran a number of businesses, including a Western apparel store and a firm that sold state records of new mothers to manufacturers of baby supplies.<ref name=Hoover/>

==Airline career==

[[File:Gravesite of United States Army Major General Cyrus Smith in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., April 18, 2024.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Grave at Arlington National Cemetery]]
Smith's abilities were first recognized by Texas industrialist [[Alva Pearl Barrett]], who in 1928 set up the airline Texas Air Transport (TAT), which became [[Southern Air Transport (1929)|Southern Air Transport]]. Smith joined SAT as a vice president in 1929, and through a series of mergers SAT became part of American Airlines. American's owner, [[E. L. Cord]], hired Smith to run the nationwide network based on his able management of the Southern operation. In 1934, he became president of American Airlines.<ref name="Museum">{{cite web |title=Biography of C.R. Smith |url=https://www.crsmithmuseum.org/visit-the-museum/about/biography-of-c-r-smith/ |website=C.R. Smith Museum |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref>

In business, he was known for an informal, no-nonsense leadership style that stressed close relationships with both executives and employees. [[Convair]] president Jack Naish noted that "you can close a $100 million deal on his word alone."<ref name="Fraher">{{cite book |first=Amy Louise |last=Fraher |title=The Next Crash |date=9 May 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mu5IDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22+is+one+of+the+few+businessmen+left+in+America%22&pg=PA72 |page=72 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9780801470493 |via=Google Books |access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> He generally communicated through personally typed one-page memos. Smith was said to know every American employee by name until the end of his first term as CEO. He fostered a close relationship with [[Douglas Aircraft]] that led American to become a key adopter of the [[Douglas DC-3]] and [[Douglas DC-6|DC-6]]: he was also one of the early proponents of what is now [[LaGuardia Airport]] in [[New York City]].<ref name=Serling/>

One of Smith's most famous acts was the publication of an advertisement entitled "Why Dodge This Question: Afraid To Fly?" in 1934. [[Air safety|Airline safety]] had been a taboo subject at the time, and Smith was credited with being the first airline manager to discuss it openly with the public.<ref name=Serling/>

In 1946, Smith began to break [[Pan American World Airways|Pan American]]'s monopoly in international air travel through [[American Overseas Airlines]], leading to American's expansion overseas. He also created the [[Admirals Club]], the first member's only airline lounge system.<ref name=Serling/> In the 1950s, he helped American become the first domestic jet carrier in the US by selecting the [[Boeing 707]] aircraft, which came out months before its rival [[Douglas DC-8]].

Smith was instrumental in lobbying for the FAA to implement a mandatory retirement age of 60 for commercial airline pilots in large part because he was eager to remove older, more expensive pilots from his cockpits and replace them with younger pilots with lower salaries. Smith was convinced it would be easier to train younger pilots for the new jet airliners, as there was some anecdotal evidence suggesting that older pilots on average took longer to adjust to the new jet airliners which had very different control characteristics than airliners with propellers.<ref name="ALPA">{{cite web |last1=Francis |first1=Gavin |title=Origins of the Age 60 Rule |url=http://www3.alpa.org/portals/alpa/magazine/2005/Jan2005_originsage60rule.htm |website=ALPA.org |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref> The age 60 retirement rule was publicly justified on the grounds that pilots might experience health issues past the age of 60. This rule remained in effect from 1960 until 2007 when Congress voted to raise it to 65 on the grounds that the age 60 rule was outdated and it was now much easier to screen pilots for potential health risks.<ref name="Fair">{{cite web |title=Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act (The Age 65 Law) |url=https://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info/all_infos/media/age65_qa.pdf |website=FAA.gov |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref>

In 1953, Smith was having dinner with a [[CBS radio]] executive who complained of the lack of advertisers willing to have their commercials aired in the middle of the night, even at reduced rates. Smith struck a deal and bought the block of hours from 11:30&nbsp;pm until 6:00&nbsp;am exclusively for American and created the show ''Music 'Til Dawn''.<ref name=Serling/> It was played on nine major CBS radio stations in American's network with classical, semi-classical, and easy listening music with only subtle advertising. ''Music 'Til Dawn'' lasted for 15 years and became an award winning radio show with millions of followers.<ref name="Peabody">{{cite web |title=Music 'Til Dawn |url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/music-til-dawn |website=The Peabody Awards |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref>

Smith left American in 1968 to become the [[US Secretary of Commerce]]. He agreed to return to American in 1973 for six months, following a period of corporate mismanagement and scandal, while the board of directors searched for a permanent replacement.  After the six month period was over, Smith retired for a final time stating that he was "thinking with a [[Douglas DC-6|DC-6]] mind and this business has changed. Yet if you don't take my advice, I'll get upset."<ref name=Serling/>

==Military career==
[[File:80-G-38534 (25509470472).jpg|thumb|Gen. Smith with [[Elliott Roosevelt (general)|Elliott]] and [[Franklin Roosevelt Jr.]] at the [[Casablanca Conference]]]]
With the outbreak of [[World War II]], Smith was one of two US airline presidents to leave their company and join the military ([[Robert Six|Bob Six]] of [[Continental Airlines]] was the other).<ref name=Serling/> Smith become a colonel in the [[United States Army Air Forces]], eventually rising to the rank of [[Major general (United States)|major general]] in the [[Air Transport Command (United States Air Force)|Air Transport Command]]. Due to his informal but results-oriented management style, Smith won high praise during the war. Referring to Smith and ATC commander [[Harold L. George|General Harold George]], Chief of the Air Force [[Henry H. Arnold|General Hap Arnold]] wrote that, "no matter what mission I gave them, I could count on its being carried out 100%".<ref name="Global">{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Gen. H.H. |title=Global Mission |date=1949 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |isbn=1299434258 |page=295}}</ref> After the war, Smith returned to run American Airlines.

==Political career==
Smith was exceptionally well-connected politically, beginning with a Fort Worth and Texas base. He was close friends with many prominent Texan politicians, including [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [[Jesse H. Jones|Jesse Jones]] and [[Sam Rayburn]]. Smith was also on very close terms with the Roosevelt family, especially [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] and her son [[Elliott Roosevelt (general)|Elliott Roosevelt]].<ref name="Hunter">{{cite web |title=Jan.14. Thursday Night, Casablanca |url=http://www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/exhibits/affectionately-fdr/ |website=Roosevelt House - Public Policy Institute at Hunter College |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref> Eleanor Roosevelt would habitually call on Smith for travel arrangements.<ref name="Papers">{{cite web |title=My Day November 4, 1938 |url=https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1938&_f=md055102 |website=GWU.edu - The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="GWU">{{cite web |title=My Day July 20, 1940 |url=https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydocedits.cfm?_y=1940&_f=md055637 |website=GWU.edu - Eleanor Roosevelt papers |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref> Smith introduced Elliott to his second wife, served as best man, and persuaded him to move to Fort Worth.

Smith's friendship with [[Lyndon Johnson]] was the principal reason for his accession to the [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]], and he became the [[United States Secretary of Commerce|U.S. Secretary of Commerce]] following the resignation of [[Alexander B. Trowbridge]]. Smith served until the age of 69, from March 6, 1968 until January 19, 1969.<ref name="Commerce">{{cite web |title=Secretaries of Commerce |url=https://www.commerce.gov/about/history/past-secretaries |website=US Department of Commerce |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref> However, he often clashed with the civil service because of his aversion to bureaucracy: on his first day, he objected to having four secretaries and asked that three of them be fired.<ref name=Serling/> This culture shock caused him to leave his post after only serving for 11 months and enter his first retirement, before being called back to American in 1973.

==Personal life==
Smith married Elizabeth L. Manget, in [[Dallas, Texas]], on December 29, 1934. Manget explained their short lived marriage with, "I loved the man, but I can't be married to an airline."<ref name="Serling">{{cite book |last1=Serling |first1=Robert |title=Eagle: The Story of American Airlines |date=1985 |publisher=St. Martins/Marek |location=New York |isbn=0-312-22453-2 |pages=86, 103–104, 137, 144, 164, 269–270, 416–417, 419, 423}}</ref> They had one son, Douglas Smith.<ref name=Serling/> Smith never married again. After retiring, Smith moved from his [[New York City]] apartment to a [[Washington DC]] townhouse. At the age of 85, he moved to [[Annapolis, Maryland]], to be closer to his son and grandkids.<ref name=Serling/>

Smith's passion when not working was [[trout fishing]], and was known for giving expensive fishing poles as gifts to friends and associates throughout his career.<ref name=Serling/> When speaking of retirement to a colleague, Smith said, "If you don't fish, there's nothing else to do."<ref name=Serling/> Smith co-owned a ranch in [[Ennis, Montana]], where he trout fished and raised cattle.<ref name=Obit/> Smith was a Baptist.<ref name="Sobel 1990 p. 332">{{cite book | last=Sobel | first=R. | title=Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774-1989 | publisher=Greenwood Press | year=1990 | isbn=978-0-313-26593-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_h97tuO2xJQC&pg=PA332 | access-date=2023-01-22 | page=332}}</ref>

===Art collection===
While living in New York City, Smith felt homesick for his native Texas and started collecting fine [[Western American Art|Western art]].<ref name="Collection">{{cite web |title=C. R. Smith Collection of Western American Art |url=http://tfaoi.org/newsm1/n1m329.htm |website=Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref>  Smith donated 100 Western art paintings to his alma mater, [[University of Texas]], which are on display at the [[Blanton Museum of Art]] in [[Austin, Texas]]. This collection includes art from [[Henry Farny]], [[Maynard Dixon]], and others.<ref name="Blanton">{{cite web |title=Go West! Representations of the American Frontier |url=https://blantonmuseum.org/?s=C.R.+Smith |website=Blanton Museum of Art |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref> Smith donated a western oil painting ''The Romance Makers'' by [[Charles Marion Russell|Charles Russell]] to the [[University of Notre Dame]] and it is on the collection of the [[Raclin Murphy Museum of Art]].<ref name="Snite">{{cite web |title=American |url=https://sniteartmuseum.nd.edu/collections/american/ |website=University of Notre Dame - Snite Museum of Art |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref> A book was written about Smith's art collection and donations in 1988, titled ''Collecting the West: The C.R. Smith Collection of Western American Art''.<ref name="Saunders">{{cite book |last1=Saunders |first1=Richard H. |title=Collecting the West: The C.R. Smith Collection of Western American Art |date=1988 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |isbn=9780292711129}}</ref>

Smith also had a vast [[Marine art|nautical art]] collection, which he donated to [[Admirals Club]]s throughout American's route system.<ref name=Serling/>

==Death and honors==
[[File:American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum May 2019 23 (C. R. Smith's grandfather clock).jpg|thumb|C. R. Smith's [[grandfather clock]] at the [[American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum]]]]

Smith died from a cardiac arrest in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], on April 4, 1990, at the age of 90.<ref name="Obit">{{cite web |title=C.R.Smith, 90, Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/04/06/cr-smith-90-dies/3153f6a5-211f-4fbb-ac28-70603104cde8/ |website=Washington Post Obit |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> He is buried at the [[Arlington National Cemetery]] in [[Arlington, Virginia]].<ref name="arlington">{{cite web |title=Cyrus Rowlett (C. R.) Smith |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cr-smith.htm |website=arlingtoncemetary.net |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref>
* Smith was a [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans|Horatio Alger]] award winner in 1961.<ref name="Horatio">{{cite web |title=Past winners (p. 186) |url=https://horatioalger.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/OIA-Book-FINAL-PDF.pdf |website=HoratioAlger.Org |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref>
* In 1974, Smith was inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in Dayton, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Cyrus Smith |url=https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/cyrus-c-r-smith/ |website=nationalaviation.org |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=28 February 2023}}</ref>
* He was the 1976 recipient of the [[Tony Jannus Award]] for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation.<ref name="Jannus">{{cite web |title=Past Recipients |url=https://tonyjannus.com/recipient |website=TonyJannus.com |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref>
* In 1992 he was inducted into the [[Airlift/Tanker Association]] Hall of Fame.<ref name="Tanker">{{cite web |title=1992 – Maj. Gen. Cyrus Rowlett (CR) Smith |url=https://www.atalink.org/hall-of-fame/3YJLYIVD71iOKPy2CdrcvM |website=Airlift/Airtanker Association Hall of Fame |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref>
* American Airlines opened the [[American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum|C. R. Smith Museum]] in 1993 at its [[Fort Worth, Texas]] corporate campus.<ref name=Museum/>
* In 1996, Smith was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]] at the [[San Diego Air & Space Museum]].<ref name="Fame">{{cite web |title=Cyrus Smith |url=https://sandiegoairandspace.org/hall-of-fame/honoree/cyrus-smith |website=San Diego Air and Space Museum Hall of Fame |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref>
* Smith was also the recipient of the [[Billy Mitchell Award]] and the Wright Brothers Memorial Award, as well as elected into the Travel Hall of Fame and the Business Hall of Fame.<ref name=Obit/>
* Smith was awarded [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)]] for his service during WWII.<ref name="CBE">{{cite web |title=Nominations, 1968: Hearings, Ninetieth Congress, First and Second Sessions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9FFAQAAMAAJ&q=C.R.+Smith+awarded+the+Order+of+the+British+Empire&pg=PA24 |website=books.google.com |year = 1968|access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Commons category|C. R. Smith}}
{{Portal|Biography}}

*[http://www.crsmithmuseum.org/ C.R. Smith Museum]
*[https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/2020/01/28/proud-father-of-the-modern-airline-system-cr-smith-and-american-airlines/ Archbridge Institute – C.R. Smith]
*[https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/smith-cyrus-rowlett Texas State Historical Association – C.R. Smith]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{succession box |
 before=American Airways becomes American Airlines|
  title=[[American Airlines|American Airlines CEO]] |
  years=1934–1968 |
  after=[[George A. Spater|George Spater]]|
}}
{{succession box |
 before=[[George A. Spater|George Spater]]|
  title=[[American Airlines|American Airlines CEO]] |
  years=1973–1974 |
  after=[[Albert Vincent Casey|Albert Casey]]|
}}
{{S-off}}
{{U.S. Cabinet official box
| before= [[Alexander Trowbridge]]
| after= [[Maurice Stans]]
| years= March 6, 1968 – January 19, 1969
| president= [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]]
| department= Secretary of Commerce}}
{{S-end}}
{{USSecCommerce}}
{{LBJohnson cabinet}}
{{American Airlines}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, C. R.}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:American accountants]]
[[Category:American Airlines people]]
[[Category:American chief executives in the airline industry]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Texas]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of commerce]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni]]
[[Category:Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Texas]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces generals of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces generals]]