FIRST LADY OF FLIGHT

Humans furthered their pursuit of flight, transcending from balloons to airplanes. Ladies continued to fly with many ladies becoming professional pilots. As with anything in life, there must be a first person to do something. For pilots, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to earn a pilot's license. Sadly Harriet Quimby lost her life before she could possibly achieve other aviation firsts.

Born May 11th, 1875 Harriet Quimby was one of only two children to survive out of ten in her family. She lived in Michigan with her father, mother, and sister. Her mother came from an upper class New York family ; her father's family were poor farmers. Her father tried several careers before moving the family to San Francisco. Her mother encouraged Harriet to become a journalist, as the career offered a steady paycheck and opportunities not usually offered to women. Harriet took to the stage instead, under the name Hazel Quimby. Through her theater connections she earned a job as a reporter, covering San Francisco's art scene, but also other hard news topics.

She moved to New York in 1903 and began working as a reporter for Leslie's Illustrated Weekly magazine. She wrote as a drama critic, but after an assignment in Cuba, she became a travel writer. After the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco, her theater friends came east.  Harriet used her pen to help her theater friends promote the new medium of film by writing both articles and screenplays. She starred in a few of those screenplays, but kept journalism as her main career.

In 1910 Harriet covered a flying exhibition. Airplanes were still a new idea, and exhibitions were thrilling events. Harriet decided to enroll in flight school, and became the first woman in America to earn a pilot's license. She then set her mind on the English Channel. On April 16, 1912 Harriet crossed from England to France in an airplane as the first woman to pilot a plane across the channel. That would have been huge news if a certain ship hadn't sank two days before. The Titanic eclipsed Harriet's accomplishment.

Harriet continued flying. She was often called china doll - which she did not like - due to her dainty appearance and petite stature. She flew in jewelry and snazzy outfits - silk blouses, trousers and lace-up boots. She also had a specially tailored jumpsuit with a hood, purple in color. She promoted a grape soda, Vin Fizz (because of her purple jumpsuit.) With this accomplishment she became the first female spokesperson to rep a product in America. The press speculated about her personal life, but Harriet eschewed romantic relationships in favor of journalism and flying.

On July 1st, 1912 Harriet was slated to fly in a Boston Aviation exposition. A coin toss occurred to pick the lucky passenger to a company Harriet. The exhibition's promoter William Willard won. As Harriet was flying, the plant's tail whipped upward indicating trouble. Willard was ejected from his seat. Harriet lost control of the plane, then ejected as well. The two did not survive the crash. Harriet had experienced difficulty with her plane in practice runs leading up to the event ; no conclusive cause was ever determined. Harriet Quimby has since been honored by appearing on U. S. postage stamp and being inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame. Every woman in aviation currently owes Harriet Quimby a huge debt of gratitude, because without her ladies would definitely be more grounded.

SOURCES :

Frey, Holly / Wilson, Tracy V., hosts. "Harriet Quimby." Stuff You Missed In History Class, iheartradio, 23 June 2021.

Harriet Quimby. Wikipedia.