In this series, The Daily is diving into key historical events and researching prominent figures from Evanston and Northwestern’s pasts.

Fred Hutcherson Jr., a self-taught aviator, was one of the first African American aviators to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Born in Evanston on July 6, 1912, Hutcherson wore many hats throughout his career: captain, pilot, entrepreneur and Tuskegee army airman. His interest in aviation manifested at a young age. 

Hutcherson graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1931 and taught himself to fly, taking off from farmland west of Evanston. By the age of 20, he began managing Northwest Airport in Des Plaines, Illinois, making him the first Black airport manager in the nation. 

“His father supported young Hutcherson’s early fascination with flight,” according to BlackPast, a reference center for Black ancestry. “When his son turned 18, he brought him an airplane, the OX5 Travel Air open-cockpit biplane.”

Dino Robinson is the founder of Shorefront Legacy Center, which archives stories of Black historical figures in North Shore. He said Hutcherson and his ambition have been historically unrecognized because of racism.

“He had these lofty goals and ideas,” Robinson said. “If he was a white male, where would he have been in aviation history, with his talent, his skills and his thought process?”

Hutcherson flew charter flights by the age of 23, BlackPast wrote. He planned to work for the U.S. Ferry Command but wasn’t allowed to because the agency banned Black pilots, according to Robinson. 

Instead, Hutcherson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force — which did not have job prohibitions based on race — after relocating to Canada in 1941 with his wife and son. There, he became a ranking captain, according to BlackPast. 

But when the U.S. declared war on Germany and Italy in December 1941, Hutcherson returned and instructed bomber pilots and navigators to aid the Allied powers, according to The Obsidian Collection Archives. 

Robinson interviewed Fred Hutcherson III, Hutcherson’s son, who has since passed away. He said Hutcherson III held his father in high esteem, keeping some of his gear and, as a photographer, shooting a lot of images with and of his father. 

Hutcherson transferred to the Royal Canadian Ferry Command, where he became one of the first African Americans to fly a plane across the Atlantic Ocean — though not entirely smoothly. Halfway through his nearly six-hour trip to Scotland, his plane’s engine stalled and Hutcherson dropped 7,000 feet before he could restart it, Shorefront wrote. 

Though he found success in Canada, Hutcherson aimed to fight on behalf of America in World War II. He joined and left his brief job as a British West Indian Airways pilot in 1943 to join the call for Black aviators at Tuskegee Army Airfield, according to Shorefront. 

Jenny Thompson, director of education at the Evanston History Center, called Hutcherson a “hometown hero” and critical figure in national history. 

“He was so brave to do what he did, and become a pilot at such a young age at the early stages of aviation,” Thompson said. “I think of aviation as the symbolic practice of soaring above your circumstances.”

Hutcherson’s son also went on to enlist in the U.S. Air Force in 1956, which Thompson said demonstrated him wanting to “follow in his footsteps.”

Hutcherson died of leukemia at age 50 on July 6, 1962. 

Forty-five years later, former President Barack Obama posthumously presented Hutcherson a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize his wartime contributions. In 2011, Hutcherson III received a replica of the medal at Shorefront. 

“We’re very fortunate to celebrate his service and his historical presence,” Robinson said. “We had a nice celebration and time with his family and community members … We had toy styrofoam airplanes that were flying around through the theater. It was pretty cool.”

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Related Stories: 

— ‘Black History/My History’ celebrates diverse experiences of Blackness

— Shorefront Legacy Center works with NU grad students to record oral history with Black residents

— Shorefront awarded two-year grant for its preservation of the city’s Black history