Julia Clark
Encyclopedia
Julia Clark was the third woman to receive a pilot's license (on May 19, 1912) from the Aero Club of America
, and though British, she was the first female pilot to die in an air crash in the United States.
Clark was born in London, and emigrated to the U.S., became a citizen, married a westerner, and settled in Denver. Clark enrolled at the Curtiss Flying School at North Island in San Diego, and, like Scott, soloed in a Curtiss plane and then joined an exhibition team. On June 17, 1912, she decided to make a test flight around dusk. Visibility was poor, and, on takeoff, one wing struck a tree limb, and the plane, a Curtiss pusher
, tumbled to the ground, pinning her beneath the wreckage. She was the first American woman to die in an air accident, her death preceding Harriet Quimby
's by two weeks.
She was the third woman to die in a plane crash but she was the first licensed pilot to die in a plane crash. Denise Moore (aka Jane Wright) age 35 was the first woman to die in a plane crash followed by 20 year old Suzanne Bernard in March 1912. Both of these deaths were in France.
Aero Club of America
The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Glidden and others to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New England. It thrived until 1923, when it transformed into the National Aeronautic...
, and though British, she was the first female pilot to die in an air crash in the United States.
Clark was born in London, and emigrated to the U.S., became a citizen, married a westerner, and settled in Denver. Clark enrolled at the Curtiss Flying School at North Island in San Diego, and, like Scott, soloed in a Curtiss plane and then joined an exhibition team. On June 17, 1912, she decided to make a test flight around dusk. Visibility was poor, and, on takeoff, one wing struck a tree limb, and the plane, a Curtiss pusher
Curtiss Model D
|-See also:-External links:...
, tumbled to the ground, pinning her beneath the wreckage. She was the first American woman to die in an air accident, her death preceding Harriet Quimby
Harriet Quimby
Harriet Quimby was an early American aviator and a movie screenwriter. In 1911 she was awarded a U.S. pilot's certificate by the Aero Club of America, becoming the first woman to gain a pilot's license in the United States. In 1912 she became the first woman to fly across the English Channel...
's by two weeks.
She was the third woman to die in a plane crash but she was the first licensed pilot to die in a plane crash. Denise Moore (aka Jane Wright) age 35 was the first woman to die in a plane crash followed by 20 year old Suzanne Bernard in March 1912. Both of these deaths were in France.
External links
- Julia Clark at EarlyAviators.com