Bessica Medlar Raiche
Encyclopedia
Bessica Medlar Raiche was a dentist
, business
woman, and physician
, who was the first woman in the United States
accredited with flying solo in an airplane
. Her accomplishment (although dimmed by the existence of another flight by a US female earlier in the month) is impressive because she had received no flight instruction or experience prior to her flight.
. Her mother, Elizabeth, was from New Hampshire
, and her father, James B. Medlar, was from New York
. She had a sister: Alice M. Medlar (1879-?). In 1880 the family was living in Rockford, Illinois
, and she was using the name "Bessie F. Medler". Raiche was a proto-feminist, she drove an automobile and wore bloomers
. She was also a musician, painter, and linguist, and participated in swimming and shooting. In 1900 she was working as a dentist and living in New Hampton, New Hampshire
, renting a room under the name Faith Medlar. She married François "Frank" C. Raiche (1874-?) of New Hampshire and they moved to Mineola, New York
. Frank's parents were both from France
.
She and her husband built a Wright
type biplane
in their living room and then assembled it in their yard. The Raiches constructed their flyer from bamboo
and silk
instead of a heavier canvas
covering used by the Wright brothers
. On September 16, 1910, in her homemade flyer at Hempstead Plains, New York, Bessica Raiche made the first solo airplane
flight by a woman in the United States
to be accredited by the Aeronautical Society of America
. Blanche Stuart Scott
had flown solo earlier the same month but her flight was less well documented and arguably not an intentional flight. Raiche said:
On 13 October 1910, Bessica Raiche was awarded a diamond-studded gold medal inscribed "First Woman Aviator in America" by Hudson Maxim
of the Aeronautical Society of America at a dinner the society held in her honor.
Bessica and François Raiche went on to build two more airplanes as part of the French-American Aeroplane Company. They were innovators in the use of lighter weight materials in aircraft construction, including the use of piano wire
to replace heavier iron wire.
In 1915 the Raiches had a daughter: Catherine E. Raiche (1915-?). In 1920 the Raiches were living in Newport Beach, California
. Bessica was a physician
, one of the first women specialists in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States
, and Frank was practising as a lawyer. In 1923 Bessica served as president of the Orange County Medical Association. In 1930 she was living in Santa Ana, California
.
On April 11, 1932, Raiche died in her sleep in Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California
of a heart attack
.
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
woman, and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, who was the first woman in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
accredited with flying solo in an airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
. Her accomplishment (although dimmed by the existence of another flight by a US female earlier in the month) is impressive because she had received no flight instruction or experience prior to her flight.
Biography
Raiche was born in April 1875 in WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Her mother, Elizabeth, was from New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, and her father, James B. Medlar, was from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She had a sister: Alice M. Medlar (1879-?). In 1880 the family was living in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, and she was using the name "Bessie F. Medler". Raiche was a proto-feminist, she drove an automobile and wore bloomers
Bloomers (clothing)
Bloomers is a word which has been applied to several types of divided women's garments for the lower body at various times.-Fashion bloomers :...
. She was also a musician, painter, and linguist, and participated in swimming and shooting. In 1900 she was working as a dentist and living in New Hampton, New Hampshire
New Hampton, New Hampshire
New Hampton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,165 at the 2010 census. A winter sports resort area, New Hampton is home to George Duncan State Forest and to the New Hampton School, a private preparatory school established in 1821.The primary village in...
, renting a room under the name Faith Medlar. She married François "Frank" C. Raiche (1874-?) of New Hampshire and they moved to Mineola, New York
Mineola, New York
Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
. Frank's parents were both from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
She and her husband built a Wright
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...
type biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
in their living room and then assembled it in their yard. The Raiches constructed their flyer from bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
and silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
instead of a heavier canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
covering used by 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...
. On September 16, 1910, in her homemade flyer at Hempstead Plains, New York, Bessica Raiche made the first solo airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
flight by a woman in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to be accredited by the Aeronautical Society of America
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
. Blanche Stuart Scott
Blanche Stuart Scott
Blanche Stuart Scott , also known as Betty Scott, was possibly the first American woman aviator.-Early life:...
had flown solo earlier the same month but her flight was less well documented and arguably not an intentional flight. Raiche said:
- "Blanche deserved the recognition, but I got more attention because of my lifestyle. I drove an automobile, was active in sports like shooting and swimming, and I even wore riding pants and knickers. People who did not know me or understand me looked down on this behavior. I was an accomplished musician, painter and linguist, I enjoyed life, and just wanted to be myself."
On 13 October 1910, Bessica Raiche was awarded a diamond-studded gold medal inscribed "First Woman Aviator in America" by Hudson Maxim
Hudson Maxim
Hudson Maxim , was a U.S. inventor and chemist who invented a variety of explosives, including smokeless gunpowder. He was the brother of Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of the Maxim gun and uncle of Hiram Percy Maxim, inventor of the Maxim Silencer.Maxim was a man of many talents...
of the Aeronautical Society of America at a dinner the society held in her honor.
Bessica and François Raiche went on to build two more airplanes as part of the French-American Aeroplane Company. They were innovators in the use of lighter weight materials in aircraft construction, including the use of piano wire
Piano wire
Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings, as well as many other purposes. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel.-Manufacture and use:...
to replace heavier iron wire.
In 1915 the Raiches had a daughter: Catherine E. Raiche (1915-?). In 1920 the Raiches were living in Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
. Bessica was a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, one of the first women specialists in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Frank was practising as a lawyer. In 1923 Bessica served as president of the Orange County Medical Association. In 1930 she was living in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
.
On April 11, 1932, Raiche died in her sleep in Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California
Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California
Balboa Island is an area of Newport Beach, California, actually comprising three modified or artificial islands in Newport Harbor: Balboa Island , the largest; the smaller Little Balboa Island to the east of Balboa Island, joined by a two-lane bridge; and the smallest Collins Island to the...
of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Timeline
- 1874 Born in Rockford, Illinois
- 1880 US Census as "Bessie F. Medler"
- 1900 US Census as "Faith Medlar"
- 1910 Solo flight on 16 September
- 1920 US Census with "Frank C. Raiche" and "Beonce F. Raiche"
- 1923 President of the Orange County Medical Association
- 1930 US Census
- 1932 Death in Balboa, California, on 11 April
Awards
- Aeronautical Society of America (Hudson MaximHudson MaximHudson Maxim , was a U.S. inventor and chemist who invented a variety of explosives, including smokeless gunpowder. He was the brother of Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of the Maxim gun and uncle of Hiram Percy Maxim, inventor of the Maxim Silencer.Maxim was a man of many talents...
) awarded her a diamond-studded gold medal inscribed "First Woman Aviator in America" (13 October 1910)
External links
- Bessica Raiche at Hargrave
- Bessica Raiche at the National Air and Space MuseumNational Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
- Bessica Raiche at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...