Nancy Hopkins Tier (May 16, 1909 – January 15, 1997) was an aviator. She was the president of the International Women's Air and Space Museum and a member of United Flying Octogenarians.

Early life

She was born as Nancy Hopkins on May 16, 1909 in

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Her father was Alfred Francis Hopkins I (1879–1955) who was born in

Wayne, Pennsylvania Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the wealthiest areas ...

and worked as an antique salesman. Alfred was said to be related to the Hopkins family that started

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

; Alfred's father was from Maryland, and his mother from Maine. Nancy's mother was Anne DeWolf Gibson (1877–1963). Nancy had a brother, Alfred Francis Hopkins II (1914–1988), an illustrator, and two sisters, Frances and Betty. She was a niece of Lady

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

and her uncle,

Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the ...

(1867–1944), was the creator of the

Gibson Girl The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in th ...

Career

In November 1927 she had her first flight from

Hoover Field Hoover Field was an early airport serving the city of Washington, D.C. It was constructed as a private airfield in 1925, but opened to public commercial use on July 16, 1926. It was located in Arlington, Virginia, near the intersection of the H ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, and in 1929 she received limited commercial license #5889 at Roosevelt Field in New York. In 1930 she listed her occupation as "aviation air pilot". That same year her father was working as an "antique salesman" and her mother was not listed as living in the household. In 1930, she entered the Women's Dixie Derby, 2,000 mile air race from

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Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She flew her Viking Kitty Hawk B4 biplane, NC30V. That same year she was one of four women in the 5,000-mile

Ford National Reliability Air Tour The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of aerial tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliability ...

, and the only woman pilot. On a ride during the winter of 1931 her plane was in a flat spin and would have crashed. She climbed out of the cockpit preparing to parachute but her weight on the wing tilted the aircraft enough to take her out of the spin. She climbed back into the cockpit and regained control at 200 feet. This got her a job at Viking as a spokeswoman. In 1931 she also received her transport license. She participated in several air races including: *1930 Ford Reliability Tour *1930 Women's Dixie Derby *1932 Meridien Aviation Pylon Race *1971 New England Air Race Hopkins joined the Connecticut

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

in 1942 and rose to the rank of Colonel.

Personal life

She married Irving Vanderroest Tier (1902–1978) on February 24, 1931 in Connecticut. Hopkins died in

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town is ...

on January 15, 1997.

Timeline

*1909 Birth *1927 First flight from Hoover Field in Arlington, Virginia *1929 Limited commercial license #5889 at Roosevelt Field, New York *1929 Charter member of

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

*1930

*1930 Women's Dixie Derby *1931 Transport license *1931 Marriage *1931 Plane in a spin *1931 Connecticut Speed Champion *1932 Meridien Aviation Pylon Race *1933 Flew coast to coast *1942

*1963 Flew the first day covers for the Amelia Earhart stamp from Atchison to New York City *1971 New England Air Race *1976 C.W. Post University award *1983

Wings Club The Wings Club, also known as the Wings Club of New York, is a social and professional club formed for aviators, based in New York City. Founded in 1942 by a group of American aviation pioneers, it is known for its monthly lunches, annual dinners a ...

award *1986 President of the International Women's Air and Space Museum *1992 Pioneer Women in Aviation Hall of Fame *1992 (circa) Honorary member of US Air Force's 38th Strategic Missile Wing *1994 resigns as president of the International Women's Air and Space Museum *1997 Death

References

External links