May 11, 1875 – Birth of Harriet Quimby, 1st American Woman to Earn a Pilot’s License

Harriet Quimby was born on this day in history in Michigan, moving with her family to San Francisco in the early 190os. She became a journalist, moving to New York in 1903 where she joined the staff of “Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly.” (This was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1855 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank Leslie.)

In October 1910, Quimby attended an international aviation meet at Belmont Park, New York, and became determined to fly herself.

She began taking flying lessons at the Moisant Aviation School in New York, attending in disguise. An FAA website on Quimby reports that after four months and thirty-three lessons, she applied for and won her pilot’s license by performing two test flights. This made her the first American woman and the second female ever to receive a pilot’s license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in France.

Quimby continued to write for Leslie’s even when touring with airshows, recounting her adventures in a series of articles. She maintained that flying was an ideal sport for women.

Photograph of Quimby in 1911 via Wikipedia

As one of the country’s few female pilots, she drew crowds whenever she competed in cross-country meets and races. Quimby joined the Moisant International Aviators, an exhibition team, and made her professional debut, earning $1,500, in a night flight over Staten Island before a crowd of almost 20,000 spectators.

Hoping to earn a global reputation with its incumbent fame and fortune, Quimby decided to attempt a channel crossing from England to France in late 1911. The feat had never been accomplished by a woman. In March 1912 she sailed for England to begin preparations for her daring flight. Quimby successfully crossed the channel, landing at Hardelot, approximately 25 miles south of her original destination. Her achievement was eclipsed however by the sinking of the Titanic two days earlier.

1912, less than three months after her channel crossing, she lost control over her plane while performing at the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet in Massachusetts. At an altitude of 1,000 feet the aircraft unexpectedly pitched forward for reasons still unknown. Both Quimby and her passenger were ejected from their seats and plummeted to their deaths in the shallow waters of the Boston harbor.

On April 28, 1991, the United States Post Office issued a commemorative stamp honoring her contributions to aviation. The 50 cent airmail stamp features a picture of the aviator, dressed in her purple satin blouse, superimposed over her Bleriot monoplane. The stamp simply states “Harriet Quimby: Pioneer Pilot.”