Theme

100 Years of Female Pilots of All Races

Bessie Coleman, was the first non-Causasian woman to earn a pilot licence, 1921

Born in Texas, USA, Bessie Coleman (1892 – 1926) was born the tenth of thirteen children. She heard tales from pilots returning home from World War I and started to fantasize about being a pilot. However, she could not gain admission to American flight schools because she was black and a woman. No black U.S. aviator would train her either.

Meanwhile, Tadashi Hyodo (1899 – 1980) of Japan began flight lessons in 1920 as well. She became the world’s first Asian woman to earn a pilot licence.