James Harold Doolittle was born in Alameda, California, on 14 December 1896. After graduating from high school in Los Angeles, he received his higher education at the Los Angeles Junior College and the University of California. He enlisted in the Army's Signal Corps Reserve in October 1917, received flight training and was commissioned in March 1918. During the First World War, Lieutenant Doolittle instructed Air Corps students in aerial gunnery and tactics.

During the 1920s, Doolittle's military aviation achievements made him famous. He made a record-breaking trans-continental flight in September 1922; won the Schneider, Bendix and Thompson air racing trophies; and played an important role in the development of instrument flying. In addition to flying exploits, in mid-decade he obtained Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Doolittle left Army Air Corps active service in 1930, though he remained active as a Reserve officer. Working in private industry, he was instrumental in improving aviation fuels and became the president of the Institute of Aeronautical Science in 1940. In July of that year, he returned to active duty with the Air Corps, subsequently working to convert the automobile industry to military production. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he planned and executed the daring 18 April 1942 air raid on Japan, one of the most dramatic incidents of the first months of the Pacific War. For this exploit, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General after the Japan raid, and later to Lieutenant General, Doolittle commanded the Twelfh and Fifteenth Air Forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theaters in 1942-43. During 1944-45, he led the Eighth Air Force in both the European and Pacific Theaters. He returned to private industry following World War II and remained an prominent figure in the aeronautics field. In 1985, he received four-star rank on the Air Force Retired List. General James H. Doolittle died in 1993.