Bessie Coleman
January 26, 1892 – April 30, 1926
As the world was experiencing Walt Disney as he incorporated his 1st film company Laugh-O-Gram Films. Bessie Coleman was becoming the first black woman to earn a pilot’s license. Because flying schools in the United States denied her entry, upon community support and receiving financial backing from prominent African-American businessman Jesse Binga and Robert S. Abbott, founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender, they encouraged her to study abroad. She taught herself French and moved to France, earning her license from France’s well-known Caudron Brother’s School of Aviation in just seven months. Upon graduating from Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Bessie became the first African American to hold an international pilot license.Coleman specialized in stunt flying and parachuting, earning a living barnstorming and performing aerial tricks. “Queen Bess” would often be criticized by the press for her opportunistic nature and the flamboyant style she brought to her exhibition flying. Bessie Coleman flew in an air show on Long Island in New York, with Abbott and the Chicago Defender as sponsors. The event was held in honor of black veterans of World War I. She was billed as “the world’s greatest woman flyer.”Weeks later, she flew in a second show, this one in Chicago, where crowds lauded her stunt flying. From there she became a popular pilot at air shows around the United States.She announced her intent to start a flying school for African Americans, and began recruiting students for that future venture. She remains a pioneer of women in the field of aviation.
Sources (Biography.com,wikipedia.com)
