MIT 1922 Yearbook – "Technique" C T Ludington (bottom row, far right)
Charles Townsend Ludington (Charles T. Ludington, C. T. Ludington), (January 16, 1896 – January 19, 1968), was a businessman of Philadelphia. He was an aviation pioneer who helped establish an every-hour-on-the-hour air service between New York and Washington.
Ludington was born to Charles Henry Ludington and Ethel Mildred (Saltus) Ludington in New York City on January 16, 1896. His brothers were Wright S. Ludington and Nicholas.[1]
Ludington offered a line of boats under the Ludington Boats Corporation between 1929 and 1931, that was formerly Ludington Aircraft – Boat Division.[citation needed] Jake Dunnell was a driver.[6]
Ludington, his brother, and Eugene Luther Vidal and Paul F. Collins originated the idea for and invested in Ludington Airline.[7] Between the four of them they managed to run Ludington Airline without government mail revenues for a few years.[8][9] Their venture led to the investigation known as the Air Mail scandal. The Ludington Line was acquired by Eastern Air Transport, later known as Eastern Airlines.[10]
Ludington married Constance Guyot Cameron in 1922;[11] they had three daughters and a son.[12] Their first child was Ethel Saltus, born at Ardmore on May 21, 1923. Their second child was Anne Finley, born at Ardmore on September 26, 1925. Their third child was Constance Cameron, born September 1, 1931.[2] Their fourth child was Charles Townsend Ludington Junior.[13]
Ludington's book "Smoke Streams: Visualized Air Flow" was, according to The New York Times, "used for several years as a basic textbook on aero-dynamics".[12]
Borgeson, Griffith (August 21, 2005). Errett Lobban: His Empire. Automobile Heritage Publishing & Co. ISBN978-0-9711468-7-7. Between them they worked out the formula which made the line the first one in history not to lose money by carrying passengers without the benefit of government subsidy in the form of a mail contract.
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