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Northrop Millar Aviation Collection
SPC.2016.007
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Northrop Millar Collection
Creator:
Millar, Richard W., 1899-1990
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2016.007
Physical Description:
14 boxes
Physical Description:
5.8 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1804-1989
Abstract: The Northrop Millar Aviation Collection contains 14 boxes and 5.8 linear feet of material regarding aviation collected by
Richard Millar, a former chairman of Northrop Corporation. This collection consists of articles, clippings, reprints, brochures,
programs, manuals, reports, catalogs, newsletters, photographs and other materials relating to aviation and the airline industry.
Language of Material:
English
.
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
Materials in this collection were acquired from Occidental College in 2016.
Processed by Dante Frye and Karen Clemons in 2016.
Richard Millar (1899-1990) was born in Denver, Colorado in 1899. At the age of eight, his family relocated to Long Beach California.
It was in Long Beach, that he initially became interested in aviation after attending the first aviation meet at Dominguez
Field in 1910, as well as due to his work assisting Earl Daughtery, a local pilot, with building and maintaining airplanes.
Millar attended Occidental College, but left during World War I to become a commissioned officer in the United Sates infantry.
After the war, Millar attended UC Berkeley and graduated in 1921. After graduation, Millar began a career in finance, and
was eventually promoted to Vice President of the Los Angeles office of Blair & Co. Inc.
In 1926, Millar took an interest in the work of Donald Douglas, and was asked to serve on the first board of directors at
Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc. in 1928- a position he held for ten years. For the first five years Millar was at Douglas Aircraft,
he was the chairman of the finance committee and contributed in setting up the first revolving credit for an aircraft manufacturing
company in America. During the following five years, Millar served as chairman of the executive committee.
In 1939, Millar became the General Manager of Vultee Aircraft Corporation and he would later go on to become President of
Vultee, presiding over the expansion of Vultee's manufacturing floor due to the demands of World War II. During his tenure,
Millar also witnessed the merge of Vultee with Consolidated Aircraft.
Millar became Director and Vice-Chairman of Northrop Aircraft Inc in 1946. He was also a member of the board from 1948-1984,
and a chairman of the board on an interim basis from 1948-1951 and once again in 1975 for seven months.
Throughout the years, Millar would continue to remain supportive of Occidental College, as a member of the board of trustees
in the 1950s, and in 1953 donated his collection of 600 rare books on the history of aeronautics to Occidental.
The Northrop Millar Aviation Collection consists of articles, clippings, reprints, brochures, programs, manuals, reports,
catalogs, newsletters, photographs and other materials relating to aviation, and the airline industry. Reports, pamphlets,
and newsletters mostly pertain to airline corporations, such as Northrop Corporation, Consolidated Vultee and Vultee Aircraft,
Douglas Aircraft Company, and Garrett Corporation, and consists mainly of annual reports.The bulk of the materials in this
collection are articles, clippings, and reprints from periodicals and magazines regarding aviation, including information
on early aerial navigation, ballooning, and airships, as well as information about modern aviation. Photographs in this collection
contain images pertaining to Northrop and Douglas aircrafts.
Arranged in nine series:
- Series I. Airline Corporations, 1936-1990
- Subseries a. Northrop Corporation Papers
- Subseries b. Consolidated Aircraft, Vultee Aircraft, and Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Papers
- Subseries c. Douglas Aircraft Company Papers
- Subseries d. Garrett Corporation Papers
- Subseries e. North American Aviation Papers
- Subseries f. United Aircraft Corporation Papers
- Subseries g. Other Airline Corporation Papers
- Series II. Magazine Articles, Clippings, and Reprints, 1804-1983
- Series III. Brochures, Pamphlets, and Promotional Material, 1909-1980
- Series IV. Programs, 1918-1978
- Series V. Catalogs and Bibliographies, 1923-1989
- subseries a. Bibliographies
- subseries b. Catalogs
- Series VI. Manuals, 1918-1940
- Series VII.Reports, 1918-1979
- Series VIII. Speeches, Addresses, and Essays, 1941-1961
- subseries a. Speeches and Addresses
- subseries b. Essays
- Series IX. Photographs
This collection contains 829 books regarding the history of aircrafts, the aviation industry, and aeronautics that are housed
separately.
For material related to aviation please consult the Vernon Johns Family Papers, Aviation Magazine, Giacinta Bradley Koontz
Aviation Sheet Music Collection, 1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Collection,
1910 Los Angeles International Aviation Meet Research Digital Collection , Lynch Family Papers on material related to Douglas Aircraft Company, and Mary Nolf Diaries and Correspondence for a diary
entry regarding the 1910 airmeet.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Aircraft industry
Aircraft industry -- California
Navigation (Aeronautics)
Ballooning
Airships
Millar, Richard W., 1899-1990
Northrop, John Knudsen, 1895-1981
Northrop Corporation
North American Aviation
Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation
Consolidated Aircraft (Firm)
Vultee Aircraft, Inc.
Garrett Corporation
Douglas Aircraft Company
United Aircraft Corporation