Matilde Moisant – USA

The child of French Canadian immigrants, Mathilde Moisant (1878 – 1964) was born in Indiana, USA.

Her brothers, John and Alfred were aviators. Moisant learned to fly at her brothers’ flight school – Moisant Aviation School – in Long Island, NY. She earned her pilot licence on August 17, 1911, just a couple of weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby did. She was the 9th woman in the world (2nd in the United States) to earn a pilot licence.

She pursued a career in exhibition flying and set an altitude record. After a serious crash in 1912, she stopped flying.

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 […]