William Howard Frankland
William Howard Frankland (November 26, 1901 – December 1980) was an American businessman who proposed the W. Howard Frankland Bridge over Old Tampa Bay.
The son of a horse buggy seller, he arrived in Tampa, Florida in 1925 from Jackson, Tennessee. He founded Pioneer Tire as well as Rubber Products, Inc., and was a banker as well as a member of the Florida State Road Board.[1]
Frankland proposed a new bridge as he felt the land between the existing Gandy Bridge to the south and the Courtney Campbell Causeway to the north was ripe for development.[1] He and his family participated in the opening ceremonies for the span on January 15, 1960.[2]
Frankland died in 1980 at age 79 in Tampa.[3] Frankland Road in Tampa's Golfview neighborhood is also named for him.