Hubert Julian(1897-1983)
- Producer
Hubert Julian was born into a wealthy family -- his father was a
plantation owner -- in Trinidad, West Indies, in 1897. His parents packed
him off to boarding school in England, but at the outbreak of World War
I he was sent to Canada, and entered the US in 1918. Having always been
interested in aviation, he had developed a device that resembled a
cross between a helicopter and a parachute and wanted to get a US
patent for it. The patent was granted, but the device was never
developed any further. While promoting this invention he was given
flying lessons. In 1922 he entered the Long Island Air Show, and became
the first African-American to parachute from a plane over New York
City. In 1924 he announced his intention to fly from New York to
Africa. He didn't get any farther than Flushing Bay, into which his
plane crashed, but the attempt made him world-famous and resulted in
his being dubbed "The Black Eagle".
For the next several years he made a living putting on airborne stunt shows. He made the acquaintance of a string of world leaders and celebrities, including Marcus Garvey and Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie. He was even the personal pilot for the black religious leader Father Divine in 1932. He maintained his relationship with Selassie, to the extent that he was made a colonel in the Ethiopian Air Force and Military Governor of Ethiopia when that country was invaded by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's forces in 1939. In 1940, when Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union, Julian flew to that country and was soon appointed a captain in the Finnish Air Force and placed in charge of a squadron of fighter planes that fought the Russians.
When the US entered World War II Julian joined the Army Air Corps and asked to be posted to a fighter unit, but the army considered him too old for combat duty and released him to take a job at the Ford Motor Co. aircraft plant in Willow Run, Michigan. When the war ended he was given a job by his old friend Haile Sealassie as president of Ethiopian Airlines. In the 1948 elections Julian worked for Democrat Harry S. Truman to get out the black vote, and was later sent by Truman to Berlin to investigate reports of discrimination against black US troops during the Berlin Airlift. He moved back to the US in 1951, buying an apartment building in New York City and becoming a registered arms dealer. In 1962 during the civil strife in the Congo, he was arrested by UN troops in Elisabethville on suspicion of trying to smuggle arms to his old friend, Katangan leader Moise Tshombe.
He dabbled briefly in the film business, producing two movies in conjunction with pioneer black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux: The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940) and Lying Lips (1939). He also got into the gold business, as a broker for foreign interests wanting to purchase US gold.
He died in New York City in 1983.
For the next several years he made a living putting on airborne stunt shows. He made the acquaintance of a string of world leaders and celebrities, including Marcus Garvey and Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie. He was even the personal pilot for the black religious leader Father Divine in 1932. He maintained his relationship with Selassie, to the extent that he was made a colonel in the Ethiopian Air Force and Military Governor of Ethiopia when that country was invaded by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's forces in 1939. In 1940, when Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union, Julian flew to that country and was soon appointed a captain in the Finnish Air Force and placed in charge of a squadron of fighter planes that fought the Russians.
When the US entered World War II Julian joined the Army Air Corps and asked to be posted to a fighter unit, but the army considered him too old for combat duty and released him to take a job at the Ford Motor Co. aircraft plant in Willow Run, Michigan. When the war ended he was given a job by his old friend Haile Sealassie as president of Ethiopian Airlines. In the 1948 elections Julian worked for Democrat Harry S. Truman to get out the black vote, and was later sent by Truman to Berlin to investigate reports of discrimination against black US troops during the Berlin Airlift. He moved back to the US in 1951, buying an apartment building in New York City and becoming a registered arms dealer. In 1962 during the civil strife in the Congo, he was arrested by UN troops in Elisabethville on suspicion of trying to smuggle arms to his old friend, Katangan leader Moise Tshombe.
He dabbled briefly in the film business, producing two movies in conjunction with pioneer black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux: The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940) and Lying Lips (1939). He also got into the gold business, as a broker for foreign interests wanting to purchase US gold.
He died in New York City in 1983.
