OTHER FEMALE AVIATORS
While Amelia Earhart was a prominent female aviator, there were other women who played important roles in the field. Just six years after the Wright Brothers flew their plane, the first women took flight and many followed in years to come (6).
Harriet Quimby
Blanche Scott
Blanche Scott (1890-1970) was the first American woman to fly on her own. She demonstrated the safety of Curtiss Airplane Company planes and later did shows. She then retired in 1916 due to lack of respect she received from her fellow male aviators (6).
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Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman (1891-1926) challenged both gender and racial boundaries in aviation. She was denied access to flight school in America due to race but she eventually obtained her license in France and was the first black woman to do so. She then returned to the U.S and started her own flight school. However, five years later she died in a tragic plane crash (6).
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Ruth Law
During the time of the suffrage movement aviation was one way women fought for the rights and they felt the need to validate their skills to men through proving themselves.