Eugene Luther Vidal (/vɪˈdɑːl/; April 13, 1895 – February 20, 1969) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, New Deal official, inventor, and athlete. For eight years, from 1929 to 1937, he worked closely with Amelia Earhart in a number of aviation-related enterprises, and was President Franklin Roosevelt's top civil aviation director from 1933 to 1937.

In his obituary, Time noted: "Eugene Vidal, 73, pioneer promoter of civil aviation and father of author Gore Vidal; in Los Angeles, California. Vidal starred in football at West Point and competed in the decathlon in the Antwerp Olympic Games of 1920. He later taught aviation and coached football at the academy, resigning his commission in 1926 to become assistant general manager of Transcontinental Air Transport (later TWA)."

From September 1933 to March 1937 he was Director of the Bureau of Air Commerce (a predecessor of the Federal Aviation Administration) in Washington, where he organized and expanded the government's civil aeronautics program, including creation of the first air traffic control system. Later he served as a director and part owner of Northeast Airlines, and as aviation adviser to the Army Chief of Staff."

Vidal became one of the pioneers in the commercial aviation industry and was an executive for three airlines during the 1920s and 1930s which developed into TWA, Eastern Airlines, and Northeast Airlines. He was the father of author Gore Vidal.

Vidal was born in 1895 in Madison, South Dakota, the son of Margaret Ann (née Rewalt) and Felix Luther Vidal. He was the second eldest of five children. His paternal grandfather, Eugen Fidel Vidal, was born in Feldkirch, Austria, of Romansh descent, and his paternal grandmother, Emma Hartmann, was Swiss.

Vidal was a versatile athlete in both high school and college. At the University of South Dakota from 1913 to 1916, he was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Vidal was captain of the university's 1915 football and 1916 basketball teams, leading the basketball team in scoring in both years, thereby assisting the university in winning an Intercollegiate Conference Title during his participation. Vidal received an engineering degree from USD and subsequently accepted an appointment from Congressman Royal C. Johnson to the United States Military Academy in July 1916.

As a football player for Army, he was described as a "ball carrier, punter, drop kicker, pass receiver and backup defenseman." In 1916 Vidal scored three touchdowns and drop-kicked a 45-yard field goal in a 30–10 victory over Notre Dame. He also scored the deciding touchdown in a 15–7 win against Navy on a forward pass thrown by Army quarterback Charlie Gerhardt. Army went 9–0 that season and outscored its opponents 235–36. The New York Times reported that he sat out the 1917 season because of a "hazing episode" but was afterward named captain of the 1918 team. He also starred in track and field and was Army's leading scorer on its 1917–18 basketball team at 8.3 points a game, for which he was named an All-American by the Helms Foundation.

At the age of 25, he was listed as 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) in height and weighing 181 pounds (82 kg) by the U.S. Olympic Committee.