Bessica Faith Raiche née Medlar, known as Bessie Raiche, (April 1875 – 11 April 1932) was an American

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

woman, America's first female aviator,

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

, and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. Raiche was the first woman in the United States accredited with flying solo in an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

Biography

Bessie Faith Medlar was born in April 1875 in Beloit, Wisconsin. Her mother, Elizabeth, was from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and her father, James B. Medlar, was from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She had a sister: Alice Maude Medlar (1879-?). In 1880 the family was living in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, and she was using the name "Bessie F. Medler". Raiche was a proto-

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

: 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 New Hampton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,377 at the 2020 census. A winter sports resort area, New Hampton is home to George Duncan State Forest and to the New Hampton School, a private prepara ...

, renting a room under the name Faith Medlar. In the 1910 Census, Bessie Faith, her widowed mother Elizabeth, and her sister Alice Maude Medlar were living in

Swampscott, Massachusetts Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...

. According to the 1910 Census, Bessie was a physician and Alice was a vocal (music) teacher. Bessie married François "Frank" C. Raiche (1874-?) of New Hampshire and they moved to Mineola, New York. Frank's parents were both from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. She and her husband built a

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...

-type

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

in their living room and then assembled it in their yard. The Raiches constructed their flyer from

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

instead of a heavier

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

covering used by the Wright brothers. On September 16, 1910, in her homemade flyer at

Hempstead Plains, New York The Hempstead Plains is a region of central Long Island, in what is now Nassau County, in New York State. It was once an open expanse of native grassland estimated to once extend to about . It was separated from the North Shore of Long Island by ...

, Raiche made the first solo airplane flight by a woman in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to be accredited by the Aeronautical Society of America. Amelia Earhart did not fly until 1927. On October 13, 1910, Raiche was awarded a diamond-studded gold medal inscribed "First Woman Aviator in America" by

Hudson Maxim Hudson Maxim (February 3, 1853 – May 6, 1927), was a U.S. inventor and chemist who invented a variety of explosives, including smokeless gunpowder, Thomas Edison referred to him as "the most versatile man in America". He was the brother of ...

of the Aeronautical Society of America at a dinner the society held in her honor. Raiche and her husband 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, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings but also in other applications as springs. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel, which replaced iron as the material st ...

to replace heavier iron wire. In 1915 the Raiches had a daughter: Catherine E. Raiche (1915-1995).Social Security death index for Catherine Elizabeth Stull, 1915-1995, listed as the daughter of Bessica F Medlar and Frank C Raiche. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007. Retrieved March 28, 2017 In 1920 the Raiches were living in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

. Bessica was a

, one of the first women specialists in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States, and Frank was practicing 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 () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

. On April 11, 1932, Raiche died in her sleep in Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

References

External links

Bessica Raiche
at Hargrave
Bessica Raiche
at the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raiche, Bessica Medlar 1875 births 1932 deaths American women aviators Aviators from Wisconsin American dentists Women dentists Physicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians