Background
Gott was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1887 to Edward Alonzo Gott and Stephanie Ortman.
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Gott was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1887 to Edward Alonzo Gott and Stephanie Ortman.
He attended Detroit University School, a predecessor of University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1909.
At the University of Michigan, Gott conducted research into rapid-cooling electrically heated combustion tubes. In 1917 he was named vice president of Pacific Aeronautical Products Company of Seattle, which became the Boeing Airplane Company a year later. Gott was president of Boeing between 1922 and 1925 at a critical juncture in the company"s history, leading it out of difficult circumstances in the wake of World War I. Under Gott"s leadership, the company obtained several business contracts with the military.
Boeing soon became a major producer of military biplanes, including the Boeing New Brunswick training aircraft and the PW-9 fighter, and established itself as an important designer and manufacturer of a broad range of military aircraft.
Gott left Boeing in 1925 to become vice president of Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America. The following year he became president of Keystone Aircraft, based in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
At Keystone, Gott oversaw the merger of Keystone with Loening Aeronautical Engineering. Keystone under Gott introduced several aircraft for civilian use, including the Petrel and the Puffer, used as a cropduster.
Gott later served as president of Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in San Diego, California, continuing his lengthy professional relationship with the military aviation industry.
At Consolidated, Gott was responsible for the company"s contract to design and build the B-24 Liberator bomber. During World World War II, Gott was chairman of the war transportation and war housing commissions in San Diego. He also testified before Congress on several issues relating to the war effort.
He died in San Diego in 1947.
At this time, Gott was a member of the Aeronautics Commission of the Bureau of Aeronautics, charged with developing regulations pertaining to safety and licensing of planes and airports.
