Aida de Acosta
Encyclopedia
Aida de Acosta Root Breckinridge (July 28, 1884 – May 26, 1962) was an American socialite and the first female to fly a powered aircraft solo. In 1903, while in Paris
with her mother, she caught her first glimpse of dirigibles. She then proceeded to take only three flight lessons, before taking the sky by herself.
Later in life, after losing sight in one eye to glaucoma
, she became an advocate for improved eye care and was founder and director of the first eye bank
in America.
in 1884 to Ricardo de Acosta, a steamship executive of Cuba
n descent, and Micaela Hernandez de Alba y de Alba, reputedly a descendant of the Alba family, famous in the history of Spain
as the Dukes of Alba
. Among her seven siblings were the writers and socialites Mercedes de Acosta
and Rita de Acosta Lydig
.
into showing her how to operate his personal dirigible, “No. 9”. Santos-Dumont was the toast of Paris at the time, frequently flying his dirigible downtown to his favorite restaurant and parking it on the street while he had dinner. Acosta flew Santos-Dumont’s aircraft solo while Santos-Dumont rode his bicycle along below, waving his arms and shouting advice.
Acosta later recalled that upon her first landing, Santos-Dumont asked her how she had fared. "It is very nice, M. Santos-Dumont," she replied. "Mademoiselle," he cried, "vous êtes la première aero-chauffeuse du monde!" ("Miss, you are the first woman aero-driver in the world!"). She was in fact the first woman to pilot any kind of motorized aircraft, nearly six months before the Wright brothers
first flew in a heavier-than-air powered aircraft.
The first flight ended in the polo
field at Bagatelle
at the northern end of the Bois de Boulogne
, during a match between the American team and the British team. Spectators assisted her from the basket. After watching some polo with Santos-Dumont, Acosta climbed back into the basket and flew the machine back to Neuilly St. James
, the entire trip lasting one and a half hours.
Hearing about the flight, her parents were appalled. They were certain that no man would marry a woman who had done such a thing, so they managed to hush it all up until many years later when in the 1930s she recounted the story to her husband and a young naval officer named Lieutenant George Calnan over dinner.
Biographers of Santos-Dumont have speculated about a romantic relationship with Acosta. Acosta is the only person, other than himself, that Santos-Dumont ever permitted to fly any of his many aircraft. Also, Santos-Dumont, a life long bachelor with no known romantic ties, kept a photograph of Acosta on his desk, next to a vase of fresh flowers, for the rest of his life. Nonetheless, there is no indication that Santos-Dumont and Acosta stayed in touch after her flight. Upon Santos-Dumont's death Acosta was reported as saying that she hardly knew the man.
. Her ophthalmologist was famed eye specialist William H. Wilmer, whom Time
magazine called "the greatest eye surgeon the U.S. has ever had." She eventually lost sight in one eye, but Dr. Wilmer’s care saved her other eye, and inspired her to organize a fund-raising campaign that resulted in $3 million to fund the establishment in 1925 of the Wilmer Eye Institute in Johns Hopkins Hospital
, the first eye institute in the U.S.. In 1945 she founded and became Executive Director of the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration in New York, the first eye bank
in the U.S..
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with her mother, she caught her first glimpse of dirigibles. She then proceeded to take only three flight lessons, before taking the sky by herself.
Later in life, after losing sight in one eye to glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
, she became an advocate for improved eye care and was founder and director of the first eye bank
Eye bank
Eye banks retrieve and store eyes for cornea transplants and research. US eye banks provide tissue for about 46,000 cornea transplants a year to treat conditions such as keratoconus and cornea scarring. The cornea is not the only part of the eye that can currently undergo transplantation. The...
in America.
Early life
Aida was born in Elberon, New JerseyElberon, New Jersey
Elberon is an unincorporated area that is part of Long Branch in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07740....
in 1884 to Ricardo de Acosta, a steamship executive of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n descent, and Micaela Hernandez de Alba y de Alba, reputedly a descendant of the Alba family, famous in the history of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as the Dukes of Alba
House of Alba
The House of Alba is an important Spanish aristocratic family who derive from the 12th century Mozarab nobility of post-conquest Toledo. Their claim to Alba traces to 1429, when the first Álvarez de Toledo was made Lord of the City of Alba de Tormes...
. Among her seven siblings were the writers and socialites Mercedes de Acosta
Mercedes de Acosta
Mercedes de Acosta was an American poet, playwright, and socialite, best known for her numerous lesbian affairs with Hollywood personalities including Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Alla Nazimova, Eva Le Gallienne, Isadora Duncan, Katharine Cornell, Ona Munson, Adele Astaire and, allegedly,...
and Rita de Acosta Lydig
Rita de Acosta Lydig
Rita Lydig was an American socialite regarded as "the most picturesque woman in America." She was photographed by Adolf de Meyer, Edward Steichen, and Gertrude Käsebier, sculpted in alabaster by Malvina Hoffman, and was painted by Giovanni Boldini and John Singer Sargent, among others...
.
The flight
On June 27, 1903 in Paris, at the age of nineteen, Cuban-American Aida de Acosta charmed Brazilian pioneer aviator Alberto Santos-DumontAlberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....
into showing her how to operate his personal dirigible, “No. 9”. Santos-Dumont was the toast of Paris at the time, frequently flying his dirigible downtown to his favorite restaurant and parking it on the street while he had dinner. Acosta flew Santos-Dumont’s aircraft solo while Santos-Dumont rode his bicycle along below, waving his arms and shouting advice.
Acosta later recalled that upon her first landing, Santos-Dumont asked her how she had fared. "It is very nice, M. Santos-Dumont," she replied. "Mademoiselle," he cried, "vous êtes la première aero-chauffeuse du monde!" ("Miss, you are the first woman aero-driver in the world!"). She was in fact the first woman to pilot any kind of motorized aircraft, nearly six months before the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
first flew in a heavier-than-air powered aircraft.
The first flight ended in the polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
field at Bagatelle
Château de Bagatelle
The Château de Bagatelle is a small neoclassical château with a French landscape garden in the Bois de Boulogne in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris...
at the northern end of the Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine...
, during a match between the American team and the British team. Spectators assisted her from the basket. After watching some polo with Santos-Dumont, Acosta climbed back into the basket and flew the machine back to Neuilly St. James
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, the entire trip lasting one and a half hours.
Flight aftermath
Biographers of Santos-Dumont have speculated about a romantic relationship with Acosta. Acosta is the only person, other than himself, that Santos-Dumont ever permitted to fly any of his many aircraft. Also, Santos-Dumont, a life long bachelor with no known romantic ties, kept a photograph of Acosta on his desk, next to a vase of fresh flowers, for the rest of his life. Nonetheless, there is no indication that Santos-Dumont and Acosta stayed in touch after her flight. Upon Santos-Dumont's death Acosta was reported as saying that she hardly knew the man.
Personal life
Aida de Acosta married:- Oren Root IIOren Root IIOren Root II was a professor of mathematics at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.-Biography:He was born on May 18, 1838, in Syracuse, New York, to Oren Root I, who was also a professor at Hamilton College. He graduated from Hamilton in 1856 then attended Rutgers College for a Doctor of...
, nephew of American statesman and Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureate Elihu RootElihu RootElihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
, in 1908; they divorced in 1922. They had a son, Oren Root III (1911-1995), and a daughter Alva de Acosta Root (born 1914 and named for suffragette-heiress Alva BelmontAlva BelmontAlva Erskine Belmont , née Alva Erskine Smith, also called Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the women's suffrage movement...
). - Colonel Henry S. Breckinridge, whom she married in 1927 and divorced in 1947. He was attorney to Charles A. Lindbergh during the Lindbergh kidnapping case, and assistant secretary of war under Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
.
Eye care advocacy
In 1922, Aida was afflicted with glaucomaGlaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
. Her ophthalmologist was famed eye specialist William H. Wilmer, whom Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine called "the greatest eye surgeon the U.S. has ever had." She eventually lost sight in one eye, but Dr. Wilmer’s care saved her other eye, and inspired her to organize a fund-raising campaign that resulted in $3 million to fund the establishment in 1925 of the Wilmer Eye Institute in Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
, the first eye institute in the U.S.. In 1945 she founded and became Executive Director of the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration in New York, the first eye bank
Eye bank
Eye banks retrieve and store eyes for cornea transplants and research. US eye banks provide tissue for about 46,000 cornea transplants a year to treat conditions such as keratoconus and cornea scarring. The cornea is not the only part of the eye that can currently undergo transplantation. The...
in the U.S..
Further reading
- American Women, by Gail Collins
- Air & Space Power Journal
- Hoffman, P. Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight (2003) at pp 212–217