sinking of the USS Maine Piper lied about his age and joined the United States Army. Piper attended Harvard University where he was on the track and field team. He graduated in 1903 with honors with a degree in business and mechanical engineering. Military and aviation career Piper served in the Spanish–American War and World War I, in the latter as a captain in the Corps of Engineers. He made most of his fortune from oil wells. In 1929, he became the original investor in the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation for $400 ($5,647 in 2017 dollars), led then by aircraft designer and aviation entrepreneur Clarence Gilbert Taylor. A year later, during the onset of the Great Depression, the company went bankrupt and Piper bought its assets and reorganized it into the Taylor Aircraft Corporation, keeping Gilbert Taylor on as president. During this period, he sought to manufacture reliable and affordable light aircraft. In 1937, two years after Piper bought out Gilbert Taylor from the company due in part to contentious clashes between the two, he established the Piper Aircraft Corporation and, by 1940, it dominated the light aircraft market. At the time, a Piper Cub and flying lessons cost $1,325 dollars ($19,808 in 2017 dollars). The Piper Cub (which derives from the Taylor Cub) would go on to become the most-produced fabric-covered monoplane in history, with over 20,000 units delivered from 1938 to 1947. Its simplicity, affordability and popularity often invokes comparisons to the Ford Model T. In 1963, Piper supported Betty Miller's successful attempt to be the first female pilot to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean, during which she delivered a twin-engine Piper aircraft from Oakland, California, USA to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Death and legacy Piper died in his home in Lock Haven due to natural causes on January 15, 1970. Just prior to his death, in 1968, Piper's son, William Piper, Jr., took over the company and was appointed president. In 1970, Piper Jr. was also named chairman by the board, and in 1973, Piper Aircraft was sold, moving from Pennsylvania to where it is located today, Vero Beach, Florida. In 1980, William Piper was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. In 1993, Piper was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. The William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania is