Marie-Louise Driancourt – France

Born Marie-Louise Martin in Lyon, France, Marie-Louise Driancourt (1887 – 1914) had three children before she began flying lessons at the Blériot school near Chartres. She transferred to the Caudron School at Le Crotoy in 1911. She received her pilot licence on June 15, 1911 becoming the 6th person in the world (5th in France) to do so.

She competed and participated in many exhibitions in 1911. In 1912, her husband died in a car crash and she was involved in a serious accident. She seems to have left aviation at that time.

Virginie Guyot – France

Born in Angers, France, Virginie Guyot (1976 – ) went on a discovery flight when she was 12 years old. Thereafter, she decides to become a pilot. She goes to […]

Eileen Collins – USA

Collins’s parents were immigrants from Ireland. As a child, Eileen Collins (1956 – ) expressed an interest both in space flight and in being a pilot. After graduating from Elmira […]

Barbara Harmer – England

Born in Bognor Regis, England, Barbara Harmer (1954 – 2011) left school aged 15 to pursue a career in hairdressing. Harmer’s first experience in the aviation industry was six years [...]

Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock – USA

After having had several jobs, Geraldine (Jerrie) Mock (1925 – 2014), née Fredritz became manager of the Colombus Airport (Ohio). She had married Russell Mock in 1945 and they had […]

Valentina Tereshkova – Russia

Valentina Tereshkova (1937 – ) was born in a small village in the Yaroslavl Oblast in western Russia. Tereshkova’s father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a […]

Ada Rogato – Brazil

Ada Rogato (1910 – 1986) received from her parents, Italian immigrants, the same education given to most women of that time – but she wanted to learn to fly. She […]