Alan Stephenson Boyd (July 20, 1922October 18, 2020) was an American attorney and transportation executive who led several large corporations and also served the U.S. Government in various transportation-related positions. He was the first United States Secretary of Transportation, appointed by Lyndon Johnson. Additionally, he served in executive positions with the Civil Aeronautics Board, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and was a president of Amtrak.
Early life and education
Boyd was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 20, 1922, to Clarence and Elizabeth (Stephenson) Boyd. His maternal great-grandfather was John Stephenson, a coachbuilder who invented and patented the first streetcar. Boyd's father died when he was two years old. He graduated from Macclenny–Glen High School in 1939, and went on to study at the University of Florida. However, he dropped out at the end of his sophomore year. He subsequently joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and remained there through the end of World War II.
Boyd married Flavil Juanita Townsend, a high school teacher, Together, they had one son (Mark).
Secretary of Transportation
thumb|left|Alan Boyd
Boyd became the first Secretary of Transportation in November 1966. In that capacity he worked in many areas including airports, the air traffic control system, automobile safety, driver education, alcoholism, and the highway beautification program (a pet project of first lady Lady Bird Johnson).
When Richard Nixon became United States president in January 1969, Boyd left the Transportation Department to become the president of the Illinois Central Railroad, a position he held from 1969 to 1972. The federal government investigated the potential conflict of interest because that railroad had received aid from Boyd's department before he resigned, but no wrongdoing was found. Boyd was later the president of Amtrak until June 20, 1982, and the president of Airbus Industrie of North America, Inc. He became the chairman of Warner Blue & Mahan, a Washington, D.C.–based consulting firm working on new technology ventures, in 1994.
Later life and death
After Boyd retired, he and his wife moved to Seattle. He received the Tony Jannus Award for his contributions to commercial aviation in 1994. He also received the 2009 Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement from Aviation Week & Space Technology. The citation read: "... for his lifelong service to aviation, including shaping policy in the U.S."
Boyd published an autobiography, A Great Honor: My Life Shaping 20th Century Transportation in August 2016.
Boyd died on October 18, 2020, at a retirement home in Ravenna, Seattle. He was 98, and suffered from failing eyesight in the last five years of life.