Robert Ellsworth Gross (May 11, 1897 – September 3, 1961) was an American businessman involved in the field of aviation. His first venture, the Viking Flying Boat Company, failed with the loss of the aircraft market brought on by the Great Depression. Gross was born in Newton, Massachusetts. In 1932, a group of investors led by Robert and his brother Courtland bought the Lockheed Aircraft Company from the bankrupt Detroit Aircraft Corporation, renaming it the Lockheed Corporation. Robert Gross served as the corporation's president from 1934 to 1956. During this period, the company was a major producer of P-38 Lightning fighters for World War II and Constellation airliners after the war. Gross died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 64. In the 2004 film The Aviator, the character of Robert Gross appeared in a brief scene, played by Brent Spiner.
