Eddie Rickenbacker was best known as a World War I fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation. During his lifetime, Rickenbacker worked with many influential civilian and military leaders. He had keen insight into technology, and vision for future improvements. Wikipedia
The Rickenbacker Guitar Company choose to use that name not only because one of the founders of the company was his relative, but because he had made the name so popular. www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1369
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Eddie Rickenbacker. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Rickenbacker
... and Aerospace Collection Eddie Rickenbacker Papers, RG 101 Finding Aid Historical Sketches of Family Members Edward Vernon "Eddie" Rickenbacker Adelaide Frost Rickenbacker David ... www.lib.auburn.edu/archive/flyhy/101/eddie.htm
The Rickenbacker Guitar Company choose to use that name not only because one of the founders of the company was his relative, but because he had made the name so popular. www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1369