[3] Beard entered the United States Navy at the age of 16 as a Carpenter's Mate, after convincing them that he was 18 and therefore allowed to enlist.

The pay was eighteen dollars per week and Beard remained with the warehouse job until 1928, eventually being promoted to sales manager.

Beard then took various jobs at the Chicago World's Fair working for Chevrolet and finally Goodyear Tire and Rubber between 1933 and 1935.

[5] On January 11, 1954, company founder Tom Braniff was killed in a private plane crash while on a fishing trip.

He led the company through the loss of their founder and began planning to take the airline into the fast approaching jet age.

He also ordered 26 new British Aerospace Corporation BAC-One11 twin jet aircraft for the shorter haul low density operations.

[7] In 1964, Braniff International Airways was purchased by insurance magnate Troy V. Post's Greatamerica Corporation along with National Car Rental.

[8] In April, 1965, Charles Edmund Beard retired from Braniff after 30 remarkable years of service with the Texas-based carrier.

He left on a high note and was at Dallas Love Field on March 11, 1966, for the first delivery of the new BAC-One11 twinjet from England.

Beard was largely credited for increasing traffic and profits during each year he was president of Braniff from 1954 until early 1965.

On May 12, 1982, the day Braniff International ceased operations, he suffered a major heart attack.