Anderson, Charles Alfred (1907-1996), was an African American aviator and flight instructor. Considered the father of black aviation , Anderson gained fame as a long-distance pilot. He also served as chief flight instructor at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University ) in Alabama , a Southern State of the United States . Anderson’s position at Tuskegee earned him the nickname, “Chief.”
Anderson was born on Feb. 9, 1907, in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania , in the northeastern United States. As a youth, Anderson was fascinated with airplanes. He learned airplane mechanics and eventually purchased his own airplane. Anderson joined a flying club and began teaching himself how to fly an airplane. He earned a pilot’s license in 1929 and a transport pilot (commercial) license in 1932.
In 1933, Anderson teamed with fellow African American pilot Albert Forsythe. The pair made flights around the United States, Canada , and the Caribbean , including a highly publicized “Pan American Goodwill Tour” in 1934. In 1938, Anderson became a flight instructor at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He joined the Tuskegee Institute in 1940. In March 1941, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt , the wife of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, visited Tuskegee and flew with Anderson.
A few months later, Anderson began training military aviation cadets for the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the Army Air Corps ’ first all-black fighter squadron. During World War II (1939-1945), the 99th and other Tuskegee squadrons formed the 332nd Fighter Group. The 332nd—remembered as the “ Tuskegee Airmen ”—flew combat missions over Europe .
After the war, Anderson continued as a flight instructor. In 1967, he formed Negro Airmen International, an African American pilot organization. Anderson retired as an instructor only a few years before he died on April 13, 1996, in Tuskegee.
