William Skelly | |
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| Born | William Grove Skelly June 10, 1878 |
| Died | April 11, 1957 (aged 78) Tulsa, Oklahoma, US |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, entrepreneur |
| Children | Carolyn Mary Skelly Joanna Jane Skelly |
William Grove Skelly (June 10, 1878 – April 11, 1957) was an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the oil business. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he moved to Kansas in 1916, then to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1919, where he founded Skelly Oil Company. By 1923, his company was one of the strongest independent producers of oil and gasoline in the United States.[1] He helped organize the first International Petroleum Exposition in Tulsa in 1923 and became president of that organization, a position he held for the rest of his life.[2] He was a founder of the Kansas-Oklahoma branch of the United States Oil and Gas Association, then known as Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.[3]
Skelly became an active promoter, as well, of the aviation industry, though he was not a pilot himself. In 1926, he purchased the financially struggling Mid-Continent Aircraft Company and turned it into the successful Spartan Aircraft Company. In 1928, he led the fundraising to build the Tulsa Municipal Airport. In October 1928, he opened the Spartan School of Aeronautics.[4]
Skelly was active in other civic projects. He donated funds to the University of Tulsa for a football stadium in 1930 and for KWGS, the first FM radio station in Oklahoma in 1947.
- ^ Ken Anderson, "Skelly, William Grove (1878–1957)". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- ^ Skelly Lodge Website. "Mr. W. G. Skelly." Accessed February 8, 2011
- ^ "Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association of Oklahoma". okmoga.com. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ^ Peek, Chet (1994). The Spartan Story (First Edition Second Printing ed.). Norman, OK: Three Peaks Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 0-943691-16-8.