By Tim Lambert
In 1784 Elisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in an untethered balloon.
In 1909 Elise Deroche became the first woman to fly solo.
Raymonde de Laroche was born in 1882. In 1910 she became the first woman to gain a pilot’s licence (in France).
Harriet Quimby was born in 1875. She was the first woman in the USA to gain a pilot’s licence (1911) and the first to fly across the English Channel solo (1912).
In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first black woman to obtain a pilot’s licence.
Ruth Elder almost became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1927, but the plane ditched in the sea near the Azores.
Amy Johnson was born in 1903. In 1930, she became the first woman to fly from Britain to Australia single-handed.
Ruth Nichols was born in 1901. She set world records for speed, altitude, and distance.
Amelia Earhart was born in 1897. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932. Also in 1932, she became the first woman to fly across the USA coast to coast (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).
Beryl Markham was born in 1902. In 1936, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic from east to west. Amelia Earhart had already flown west to east, but Beryl’s flight was more difficult because she was flying against prevailing winds. Her plane crashed in Nova Scotia, but she became a heroine. Later, she met the mayor of New York.
Jacqueline Cochran was born in 1906. In 1953, she became the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound.
Louise Arner Boyd was the first woman to fly over the North Pole in 1955.
Anne Burns was the first woman to fly a glider across the English Channel in 1957.
In 1964, Geraldine Mock became the first woman to fly around the world solo.
