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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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Brown, Sterling. First Lady of the Air: The Harriet Quimby Story. Tudor Pub, 1999.
Kerr, Leslie. Harriet Quimby: Flying Fair Lady. Schiffer, 2016.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="12741 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=12741">26 Comments
Even though her death was drastic and terribly upsetting, I am happy that Quimby was an inspiration to other female pilots and appeared on a US postage stamp. Her courage and bravery deserves much recognition.
Its sad that such young talent and someone as heroic as her had their life cut short like that. Like Raymonde de La Roche before her, she was brave because she was willing to put her life on the line to push the limits of what we could do and to make discoveries about the limits of flight.
It goes to show how well the plane was built to have lasted this long. Being the first female pilot to fly over the English Chanel is an admirable achievement and I am sure many female pilots look up to her today.
An event that is both inspiring and tragic. She had a lot of courage being the first woman pilot to fly over the English Chanel.
What an inspiring and sad story at the same time. It must have been a great achievement for that time for a woman to fly an airplane. I am sure she is highly admired today, not only by females, but also male pilots. I think it is amazing that the airplane she flew in is still flyable!
Another person I have never heard and her death was tragic, yet she made a statement flying over the English Channel. She was another inspiration for people to look up to.
Flying in the early 1900’s would have of been scary because of how many flyers died from crashes. Quimby is another women aviationist to look up to if you are a flyer.
Quimby is a true inspiration of her time. She accomplished some incredible feats, including screen writing in Hollywood and being the first American women to receive her pilots license. It is a real shame she tied tragically and very young. I’m sure she would have accomplished many more great things if her life was able to continue.
Once again, many women pilots are overshadowed by Amelia Airheart, but I think Quimbly was an adventurous hero of her time. It’s amazing that the plane survived the crash.
Airplanes seem to have been so dangerous at the turn of the century. Every article we read seems to feature a famous pilot losing their life. It shows an interesting mix of courage and a lack of sense.
What a shame that the day this woman achieved this incredible feat had to be over shadowed by the devastating events of the Titanic sinking! What an honor for a woman to complete such a task. She should have been acknowledged for her courage after the news of the Titanic had settled down.
It is unfortunate that in 1912 Quimby’s accomplishment of being the first female to fly over the English channel was over shadowed by the Titanic sinking. The bright side is after she died in a plane accident she was honored for her work in aviation by being on the US stamp.
What a significant task to become the first ever American women pilot to receive her pilot license. It is a shame though that her great task was over looked by the sinking of the Titanic. They did not forget her though! Good to see she is in the the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame and that she has 2 historical markers in her honor in Michigan.
What an accomplishment to become the first ever American woman to receive her pilot license. She deserves to be in the hall of fame in Long Island and have two historical markers in Michigan. It is truly a shame thought how she died at such a young age. I would love to see the plane that her last flight took place in.
Quimby was a great American overlooked by the events occurring around her time. She was the first American women to get her pilot’s license and the first woman to fly across the English channel. Those are no small feats and it is even more disappointing she died at such a young age. I am glad we still honor her and her achievements today.
It is unfortunate that Quimby’s accomplishments were overlooked by the sinking of the Titanic the day before. It is also disappointing that she died from such a young age. I could not believe the plane she was ejected from, causing her death, landed intact. She was a brave American and deserves to be in the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame.
From the articles I have read so far, it seems that plane accidents were not uncommon in the early 20th century. A lot of memorable pilots have passed away from accidents. This shows how far we have come today in plane development and safety. Quimby was an inspiration to all American women with hopes of flying.
In 1911 Harriet Quimby made history! Becoming interesting in flying in 1910 it did not take her long to get her certification in 1911. Her life was unfortunately cut short when she was ejected from a plane she was flying and died in the fall. She became an inspiration to girls everywhere though when she was the first woman to get her aviation certification.
Harriet Quimby was very brave for being the first American woman to get her pilot license. Unfortunately, that joy did not last long as she was ejected from her airplane and died in the crash. She is still a symbol of bravery.
Quimby was a woman of many talents and no doubt inspired many women across the country. Perhaps she even inspired Amelia Earhart to pursue a career in aviation. Her death was tragic because she died so young. She had a full life ahead of her as a pilot that was unfortunately cut short.
This is the second female to receive her pilot’s license and have a tragic death due to the airplane. At least she was able to fly and inspire other women.
So many amazing people losing their lives so early. Amazing how woman have always challenged the mindset that men can do things people can’t. I remember watching a documentary about people trying to hold back because she was the first woman pilot in America.
Cannot imagine flying in 1900’s, had to have been so dangerous.
Another young trailblazing pilot who died too soon. That is absolutely crazy that she and her passenger died but that the plane remained intact! Thankfully she was still honored for her achievements after her death.
I wonder if she would have survived if she stayed in the airplane.
I will never fly in my life so i can see how brave she is!