![]() ![]() For example, according to one biographer, while working in California, she was one of the first journalists anywhere to use a typewriter. Pursuing a career in a field few women entered at that time, she stood out among her peers for a variety of reasons. Harriet Quimby's public life began in 1902, when she began writing for the San Francisco Dramatic Review and also contributed to the Sunday editions of the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Call. An anomaly for her time, Quimby willingly disregarded societal convention, opting for a career rather than marriage. Encouraged by her mother to believe that she could succeed in almost any endeavor, she relied on her talents and wit to accomplish what few women of her time even dared to dream about. ![]() Beautiful and well-poised, Quimby aptly carried out the charade. Although she did grow up in Arroya Grande in a poor rural family, many presumed her to be from a wealthy family and well-educated in the United States and France. She always wanted a "fadeless immortality" and received it due to her distinct and determined personality and her many accomplishments in her short life.īorn in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1875, Quimby led people to believe she was born in Arroya Grande, California, in 1874.Killed on July 1, 1912, at the Harvard-Boston Air Meet when she was thrown from her plane.This outfit, then considered risqué, soon became a fashion trend and she was often called the "Dresden Doll Aviatrix" by fans because of her dashing, yet feminine image. She was known as a "green-eyed beauty" in a plum-colored satin flying suit which she designed herself.She was considered a radical woman in her day because she smoked, owned a car, flew an airplane, traveled the world extensively – alone as well as being a professional writer and photographer.Became the first woman to fly the English Channel on April 15, 1912, but her feat went largely unnoticed as the Titanic sank the same day.Flew at the Nassau Boulevard, Long Island, Air Meet in September 1911, and won the cross-country race. Participated in several air shows in the Fall of 1911 and became the first person to fly over Mexico City.Took her licensing test on Augand passed, thus making her the first licensed female pilot in the United States.Learned to fly at the Moisant Aviation School in Mineola on a French Bleriot Monoplane.Attended the Belmont Park Air Meet in October 1910 where she became enthralled with aviation and determined to learn to fly.Became a reporter, photographer and literary and theatrical writer for Leslie’s Magazine, 1903-1912 while living in New York.Born May, 1875 to a poor farm family in Michigan."In my opinion, there is no reason why the aeroplane should not open up a fruitful occupation for women." Perhaps her life remains a mystery because she publicly flew for less than a year and she intentionally created an aura of intrigue about her early life. Although most aviation buffs know that Quimby was the first American woman to earn a pilot's license and the first woman to make a solo flight across the English Channel, little else is known about her or her short career as an aviator.
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