August 1, 1911: Harriet Quimby, 1st American Woman to Get Pilot License

A Brief History

On August 1, 1911, Harriet Quimby of Michigan became the first woman in the United States to be awarded an Aviator’s Certificate by the Aero Club of America (ACA). She had become interested in aviation and first started flying in 1910 after working as a New York theater critic and screenwriter for 7 Hollywood silent movies, all directed by the famous D.W. Griffith.

Digging Deeper

Quimby became the first woman in history to fly across the English Channel in 1912, with her great accomplishment overlooked by a public engrossed in the news story of the sinking of the RMS Titanic the day before.

Born in 1875, this incredibly interesting woman had also served as the spokesman for Vin Fiz, a grape soda of the day. Flying a Bleriot monoplane in an unsanctioned event in Massachusetts in 1912 cost Quimby her life, when she and her passenger were ejected from the 2 seat plane when it unexpectedly pitched forward. (Obviously before seat belts were installed in planes.) Although the 2 aviators died in the fall, the airplane actually crash landed intact, having glided down on its own. Dead at age 37, Quimby was an inspiration to female pilots during the early years of aviation and was honored on a US Postage Stamp in 1991. She is in the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame and has 2 historical markers in her honor in Michigan. She lies buried in the appropriately named Valhalla, New York Kensico Cemetery.

Trivia: The airplane possibly flown by Quimby on her last flight is still flyable and resides in the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Red Hook, New York, one of the oldest flyable airplanes in the world.

Question for students (and subscribers): Who is your favorite woman pilot? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

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