Browsing: March 8

A Brief History On March 8, 1949, the long and convoluted journey of Mildred Gillars temporarily came to an end when she was convicted of treason against her native United States of America. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Gillars, born Mildred Sisk in Maine changing her name at age 11 when her mother remarried. Moving to Conneaut, Ohio in 1916, she then attended Ohio Wesleyan University to study acting in 1918, but dropped out prior to graduation.  Her cracked journey continued as she moved to New York to further her acting career, but the big break did not come. …

A Brief History On March 8, 1910, the Aero-Club of France issued pilot license #36 to Raymonde de Laroche, making her the first licensed female pilot in the world.  Although sometimes referred to as the first woman to fly an airplane, it is likely that 2 other women had flown before her.  Note: A female aviator is also called an “aviatrix.” Digging Deeper Laroche had been born Elise Raymonde Deroche in France in 1882.  Despite the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers, the fervor over the new aeronautical industry was in Europe, not North America, and Laroche took her keen interest in the new sport to…