Most everyone knows the name Emilia Earhart, the famous female pilot lost at sea in 1937. But few remember another ground-breaking female aviator named Harriet Quimby. She was famous a decade before, and was an inspiration to, Emilia Earhart.
Today, only aviation buffs know that Quimby was the first American woman to earn a pilot’s license, the first to fly at night, and the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. Sadly, her short public life as “Queen of the Air” lasted less than a year before she died in a tragic plane crash. Who was this inspirational and daring woman?
Harriet Quimby was born in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1884 and grew up in Arroya Grande, California in a poor family. Her mother taught her self-confidence and encouraged her to believe that she could succeed in any endeavor, regardless of her sex. Harriet relied on her wit and talents to accomplish what few women of her time dared even dream about becoming an aviator. Beautiful and well-poised, many presumed she was from a wealthy family and well-educated. Quimby did nothing to deny these assumptions and carried on the charade her entire life.
Harriet’s public career began in 1902, when she began writing for two San Francisco newspapers, a career few women entered at that time. She drove a yellow automobile around town, quite a unique sight since motorcars were relatively rare at the time. In 1903, at only 20, she moved to New York City where Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly hired her as editor of the women’s page. Unmarried, she lived with her widowed mother in New York City’s Hotel Victoria.
Her love of aviation began in 1910.
She witnessed an international aviation meet flown around New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty. Harriet became captivated by both the flying machines and John Moisant, the young and wealthy pilot who won the race. That evening, she saw Moisant having dinner at the Hotel Astor and boldly asked him to teach her to fly. The man grinned and agreed, primarily due to her attractiveness, not really taking her seriously. However, before she could begin any lessons, Moisant died in a plane crash a week later at a race in New Orleans.
Undaunted, Harriet enrolled in the new Moisant Aviation School, learning to fly Moisant monoplanes, copies of the French Blériots. Quimby took her flight lessons at dawn before her day job at the magazine. Females entering male dominated aviation was absolutely unheard of. In the early 1900’s, women were not supposed to step out of their assigned roles in society. Nevertheless in 1911, after 4 months and 33 lessons, she obtained her pilot’s license in Long Island after two test flights. She became the first American woman and second female ever to receive a pilot’s license.
A newspaper account of the day noted that ‘the Aero Club, despite its misgivings, was forced to make the award owing to the splendid flying of Miss Quimby.’ The press dubbed her the “China Doll” because of her fair skin and petite stature. The ambitious Quimby quickly capitalized on her new fame. After all, pilots could earn as much as $1,000 at an air show performance. Race meet prize money could go as high as $10,000!
Quimby joined the Moisant International Aviators team. She won headlines again by making her public debut at a moonlight flight over Staten Island before more than 20,000 spectators. She earned $1,500, a small fortune at the time. Quimby’s flying had won the approval of her bosses at Leslie’s Weekly. She continued to contribute to Leslie’s and wrote accounts of her flights for the magazine. In September, she beat the leading French aviatrix, Helene Dutrieu, in a cross-country air race.
“The men flyers have given the impression that aeroplaning is perilous work, something that an ordinary mortal should not dream of attempting. But when I saw how easily the man flyers manipulated their machines, I said I could fly too.” -Harriet Quimby
Quimby capitalized on her femininity. Her flight costume was all the rage: trousers tucked into high-laced tan boots, a plum-colored, long-sleeved satin blouse, choker collar and a flying hood – all designed by Quimby herself. This outfit, then considered risqué, soon became a fashion trend. Her fans called her the “Doll Aviatrix” because of her dashing, yet feminine, image. She drew crowds whenever she competed or toured with airshows across the U.S.
A darling of the press, Harriet Quimby’s sparkling personality and graceful elegance earned her praise as ‘lovable,’ ‘irresistible,’ ‘charming’ and ‘intelligent.’ One columnist called her ‘a glamorous, green-eyed beauty.’ She was indeed considered a radical woman in her day – she smoked cigarettes, owned a motor car, flew an aeroplane, traveled alone, and had a career as a writer.
Passionate about being an aviator, she even went so far as to tout that flying was an ideal sport or even occupation for women. The Vin Fiz Company used Quimby to advertise its new grape soda, Vin Fiz. She appeared in posters, magazines, and billboards in her distinctive purple aviator uniform.
Desiring global fame next, Quimby decided to attempt a crossing of the English Channel.
The feat had already been accomplished by Louis Bleriot in 1909, but never by a woman. Quimby offered Leslie’s magazine exclusive rights to her first-person account of the proposed flight. She obtained a letter of introduction to French aviator Louis Blériot and in 1912, sailed for England. Meeting Blériot in Paris, she convinced him to loan her one of his new 60-hp Blériots for her historic flight.
For Quimby, this would be her first flight in a Blériot, first with a compass, and first across water. A worried group of friends and colleagues saw Quimby off early on Tuesday, April 16, 1912. On a cold spring morning, the adventurous pilot climbed aboard the French Bleriot monoplane, waved to her fans, and began her daring flight from Dover to Calais.
Airborne at 9 AM, Quimby climbed to 2,000 feet before heading out over waters of the English Channel. She caught a brief glimpse of the London Daily Mirror‘s boat, jammed with reporters and photographers, before running into an unexpected fog bank. What should she do now? Turn back or go forward? Even a minor error could send her wandering above the North Sea or the Atlantic.
“In an instant, I was beyond the cliffs and over the Channel. I could not see ahead of me at all, nor could I see the water below. There was only one thing for me to do, keep my eyes fixed on my compass.”
She climbed through the fog to 6,000 feet, seeking clear sky, but found only a skin-shivering cold. Keeping a close watch on her compass, she dropped down to 200 feet for the remainder of the flight. When her plane finally broke clear of the fog, Harriett squinted against the rising sun. She sighed in relief as she could see the shores of France ahead. Harriet sighted a deserted stretch of flat, sandy beach and landed. She was quickly surrounded by excited French fishermen and villagers.
The crossing took a nerve-wracking 59 minutes as Quimby landed 25 miles south of Calais.
Her achievement went largely unnoticed however in the next days’ Paris and London papers. Quimby’s daring feat was overshadowed by the tragic sinking of the RMS Titanic just two days earlier in the North Atlantic. Nevertheless, Harriet Quimby was now the official ‘Queen of the Air,’ and feted in London and Paris before returning to the U.S. a bon-a-fide celebrity.
Quimby was in love with flying and continued performing at air shows and competing in air meets throughout the U.S. She published more than 250 articles in her parallel profession as a journalist. Unfortunately, her short flying career ended weeks later on July 1, 1912, just three months after her Channel crossing.
She had entered the 1912 Harvard-Boston Meet at Harvard Field in Squantum on Dorchester Bay. Monday evening, July 1st, just before 6 pm, with the competitive events of the day over, Harriet took off on a short flight with William Willard, the meet’s wealthy manager. The flight would be a great advertisement for his show as he had invested heavily in it. Harriet never turned down an offer that promised more publicity for herself.
After taking off, they headed east toward the Boston Light. Quimby sat in the front cockpit of a new 70-hp Blériot monoplane, Willard rode in the rear cockpit. Returning from the Light 20 minutes later, the crowd watched as Quimby’s plane descended in a steep glide. Then suddenly, she slanted sharply down and turned hard to the left. The horrified spectators witnessed Willard fall out, clear over the nose of the plane, followed a few seconds later by Quimby herself! Both plunged into the shallow river 1,000 feet below and died instantly.
Harriet Quimby’s flying career had lasted exactly 11 months. She was dead at only 28.
The Boston Globe described the accident as ‘one of the worst tragedies ever to happened at an air meet in America. The sight caused women to shriek and men to turn sick.’ But what caused the tragedy with such an experienced pilot at the controls of a state-of-the-art aeroplane? Was it pilot error?
Earl Ovington, a leading pilot of the day, was one of the first to reach the plane crash. He found that a rudder control wire was caught jammed over the vertical control lever. This design flaw, he concluded, caused the machine ‘to turn left and pitch downward,’ catapulting the occupants out. The Globe noted that John Moisant had been flying a similar monoplane when he too plunged headfirst to the earth at New Orleans. The lack of proper seat belts in aeroplanes was also quickly seen as a factor.
Though a tragic loss, Harriett Quimby’s short and impressive career went on to inspire future, famous women aviators. Elinor Smith was born the same year as Quimby’s daring Channel crossing. Inspired by Quimby, she became the youngest pilot at age 16 and went on to set numerous endurance, speed, and altitude records in the 1920’s. A young Amelia Earhart also was inspired by Harriet Quimby. She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic before disappearing while attempting to fly around the globe in 1937.
Today, few remember Harriet Quimby, Queen of the Air. Though she was a fearless young woman of ambition, intelligence, and beauty, she is all but forgotten. In 1991, eighty years after her death, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp honoring her contributions to aviation. The airmail stamp contains a picture of the aviator, dressed in her purple satin blouse, before a Bleriot monoplane, stating simply “Harriet Quimby: Pioneer Pilot.” In 2004, Quimby was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in recognition of her accomplishments during the dawn of manned flight.