Who started Six Flags?
Six Flags is billed as largest regional theme park company in world
Six Flags was founded in 1961 when Angus G. Wynne Jr. opened the very first theme park, Six Flags Over Texas, in Arlington.
The 212-acre park was just the beginning of the company's rise to "preeminent standing in the family entertainment industry," Six Flags said.
In creating the theme park, Wynne had coupled his vision and imagination with what he learned from fellow pioneers around him.
His vision: to create, large regional theme parks that were close in proximity to where people lived, resulting in both a convenient and inexpensive experience, according to the company.
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His innovative rides and "brilliant" theme presentations became his formula for success, Six Flags said.
By 1965, he led the creation of Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta followed by Six Flags Over Mid‐America near St. Louis a few years later, the New York Times reported. He was also credited with creating Old Chicago in Illinois, which has been dubbed the world's largest indoor amusement park, the Times reported.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, on June 20, 2020. (Lie Ma/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/ via Getty Images)
However, well before theme parks became a major part of his life, the University of Texas graduate began working in Texas oilfields before joining the Navy where he served in World War II, the outlet reported.
His father, Angus Gilchrist Wynne Sr., whom he was named after, was a lawyer and real estate developer.
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After his time at war, Wynne Jr. also dove into the real estate industry. He became president of the American Home Realty Company, which was passed onto him by his uncle, then prominent Dallas businessman Toddie Lee Wynne Sr., according to Preservation Dallas.
Wynne Jr. passed away in 1979 after suffering a heart attack at the age of 65 in his Dallas home, the Times reported.
Today, the company has emerged as the largest regional theme park company in the world with dozens of theme and water parks across North America, according to Six Flags.