Born in Michigan, Harriet Quimby (1875 – 1912) became a successful journalist and screenwriter before she became interested in aviation in 1910.
On August 1, 1911, she was the first woman in the United States (7th in the world) to receive a pilot license. Less than one year later, on April 16 1912, Quimby took off from Dover, England, en route to Calais, France and made the flight in 59 minutes, landing about 25 miles (40 km) from Calais on a beach in Hardelot-Plage, Pas-de-Calais. It was April 16, 1912, and she had become the first woman to pilot an airplane the English Channel.