Robert Six

Robert Forman Six (June 25, 1907 – October 6, 1986) was an American businessman who was the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1936 to 1980. Beginning his career in the early days of commercial aviation in the United States, he became the CEO of Continental Airlines, a major contemporary airline.

According to Maverick: The Story of Robert F. Six and Continental Airlines, "Six was one of the last members of the group of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries (including Juan Trippe, William A. Patterson, Jack Frye, C.R. Smith, and Eddie Rickenbacker) who built the U.S. airline industry into what it is today."

He started his business career in sales for a public utility company but was fired for taking flying lessons on company time. Six learned to fly in an Alexander Eaglerock biplane with an OX-5 engine. After about 10 hours of flight time, he received a pilot's license (number 5772) in 1929 at the age of 22. That same year, he bought an OX-5-powered Travel Air biplane from Walter Beech and established the Valley Flying Service. This service sold scenic rides to passengers and was used to race on weekends.

In 1951, Six met actress and singer Ethel Merman; they married in 1953, and settled in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. Merman's son, Bob Levitt Jr., recounted that life with Six became oppressive. According to Levitt, he and his mother, sister, and elderly grandparents suffered emotional and physical violence from a regularly explosive Six, who was called "Big Meanie" by his stepchildren. Merman found Denver's society rural and limited compared to New York. Six and Merman divorced in 1960. From Six's perspective, Merman had failed him by not becoming a public relations prop for Continental.

Legacy and honors

In 1971, Six was nominated and inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.

In June 1974, Six was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In 1980, he was inducted into the U.S. National Aviation Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

In 2011, United Airlines, which merged with Continental Airlines, named a plane (N77006) after Robert Six.