PEOPLE: Women’s History Month 2023 honors Harriet Quimby, Matilde Moisant, and Bessie Coleman as role models for women aviators
AGN.News Team
March 27, 2023
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – Women’s History Month 2023 recognizes pioneer women aviators whose example as role models have been influential in the growth in the number of 21st century women aviators as history makers.
Among these 20th century women aviators were Harriet Quimby, Matilde Moisant, and Bessie Coleman. All three were ‘firsts’ in the field of aviation.
In the early days of aviation women understood the value of aviation as a field with room for everyone, including women. These three role models and aviation pioneers are always being mentioned in aviation circles by women.
Harriet Quimby: America’s 1st licensed pilot
Harriet Quimby was born on May 11, 1875. The absence of an official birth certificate enabled many communities in the state of Michigan to claim to be her birthplace, among them Coldwater and Arcadia Township.
Harriet Quimby (1875-1912) grew up to become a role model and an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and screenwriter. Her first passion was flying airplanes.
On August 1, 1911, Quimby was the first woman in the United States to receive a flight license as an airplane pilot. Her first flight was piloting a Blériot XI monoplane.
In 1912, she became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She was petite in stature with fair skin so the press called her the “Dresden China Aviatrix” or “China Doll”.
This added to her fame and earned her thousands of dollars for flying her Blériot XI monoplane in air shows. Quimby earned $1,500 for one flight over Staten Island as a crowd of nearly 20,000 spectators looked on.
As a member of the Moisant International Aviators exhibition team, Quimby toured the country flying her preferred monoplane. She was billed as a female pilot which drew large crowds. Her femininity was accentuated by her clothing style and jewelry. She was applauded everywhere she performed.
Harriet Quimby performed internationally
Quimby traveled to Mexico City and performed with her Blériot XI monoplane for newly-inaugurated President Francisco Madero at the end of 1911.
On April 16, 1912, Quimby flew from Dover, England to Calais, France and landed on a beach in 59 minutes. This trip made her the first woman to pilot an aircraft across the English Channel. This was a major news event for a woman.
However, because the ocean liner Titanic sank the day before (April 15, 1912), the world was stunned by this peacetime sinking of a cruise ship and gave little attention to this history-making flight by the first American woman pilot.
On July 1, 1912, Harriet Quimby performed in an unsanctioned contest called the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet at Squantum, Quincy, Massachusetts.
She flew her brand new open-air two-seater Blériot XI monoplane from Boston Light in Boston Harbor at 3,000 feet, circling and returning before a cheering crowd below.
Suddenly, and for an unknown reason at 1,000 feet, her Blériot XI monoplane plane pitched forward and ejected her and the organizer of the event, William A.P. Willard. Both fell to their death as the plane glided to a muddy landing.
Quimby was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. A year later, her remains were moved to the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.
Harriet Quimby: Legacy and honors
A cenotaph to Quimby, the Harriet Quimby Compass Rose Fountain with a plaque honoring her, stands at Pierce Brothers/Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California close to the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation. This is a shrine that contains the ashes of aviation pioneers.
The fountain’s plaque contains the following tribute to Harriet Quimby:
“Harriet Quimby became the first licensed female pilot in America on August 1, 1911. On April 16, 1912, she was the first woman to fly a plane across the English Channel. She pointed the direction for future women pilots including her friend, Matilde Moisant, buried at the Portal of the Folded Wings.”
In 1991, the United States Postal Service issued a 50 cent airmail postage stamp featuring Harriet Quimby.
Two Michigan official historical markers honoring Harriet Quimby can be seen by visitors. One in Coldwater and the other in Arcadia Township.
In 2004, Quimby was inducted into the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame.
Quimby Road at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California, is named in her honor.
“Harriet Quimby truly pointed the direction for future women pilots as they demonstrate to the world how women pilots, flight attendants, and ground crews can safely carry millions of passengers around the world everyday, thanks to women like Harriet Quimby.
Matilde Moisant America’s 2nd certified pilot
Moisant was born on September 13, 1878 in Earl Park, Indiana, to Médore Moisant and Joséphine Fortier. Both places exist in records, but her license from the Aero Club of America shows Earl Park. Both parents were French Canadians.
Matilde Josephine Moisant (1878-1964) was the second American woman to obtain a pilot’s license on August 13, 1911. She was a true pioneer of aviation and a real Aviatrix. She learned to fly at Moisant Aviation School on Long Island, New York.
In September 1911, Moisant broke the women’s altitude world record and won the Rodman-Wanamaker trophy by flying to a height of 1,200 feet.
On April 14, 1912 in Wichita Falls, Texas, her plane crashed (the same day the Titanic cruise ship hit an iceberg).
On July 1, 1912, her friend Harriet Quimby was thrown from her airplane and killed. Moisant recovered from her wounds. This series of events led her to give up flying.
Matilde Josephine Moisant passed away on February 5, 1964 in Glendale, California. She was buried at Pierce Brothers/Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California close to the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation.
Matilde Josephine Moisant is a real role model for 21st century women aviators. Like her friend Harriet Quimby, Moisant had the inner strength and fortitude needed to be a leader in the field of aviation.
Bessie Coleman 1st Black licensed pilot
Elizabeth Coleman (sometimes, Bessie) was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, the tenth of thirteen children of George Coleman, a mixed African American who had Cherokee grandparents, and Susan Coleman, who was African American.
Bessie Coleman (1892-1926), an early American aviator, was the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license. On June 15, 1921, Coleman was the first Black person to earn an international pilot’s license.
Coleman was unable to find an aviation flight training school that would accept African Americans so she went to France for flight school.
Like Quimby and Moisant, Coleman earned money as a high-profile pilot in air shows. She was very good as a pilot who performed across the country. She was well-known as Queen Bess and Brave Bessie.
On April 30, 1926, Bessie Coleman’s plane crashed causing her death. Her love and passion for flying is an inspiration for women today, especially African American and Native American women.
Bessie Coleman, like her fellow pioneer aviators, have been awarded and honored for her role as an early American woman aviator. You can learn more by going here.
Today, women are flying all types of airplanes. Many women fly commercial jetliners, Air Force combat jets, troop and equipment airplanes, and many more. Their service to the nation fulfills the role of women in aviation that Harriet Quimby, Matilde Moisant, Bessie Coleman started.
Women’s History Month 2023 both honors and celebrates the life and legacy of exemplary women whose empowerment is an example for all 21st century women.
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