Julia Clark in Exhibition Plane, 1911 (9897521094)

Julia Clark (December 21, 1880 – June 17, 1912) was the third woman to receive a pilot's license from the Aero Club of America, and the first American woman to die while piloting an airplane. She earned her pilot's license on May 19, 1912 and died less than one month later.

Biography

Clark was born in

Bangor, Michigan Bangor is a city in Van Buren County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,885 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the northeast corner of Bangor Township, but is politically independent. It was first organized as a town ...

on December 21, 1880. Her family moved to California and subsequently to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

where she worked as a stenographer. Her interest in flying began when she attended the

1911 Chicago International Aviation Meet The 1911 Chicago International Aviation Meet (August 12 to August 20, 1911) was major aviation show held at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, United States in August 1911.Souter, Gerry (28 June 2010Guts and Glory: The Last Great Aerial Tournament ' ...

. After first overcoming Glenn Curtiss' reluctance to train women pilots, she was enrolled in his flying school in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

where, on May 19, 1912, she earned her pilots license (#133) after soloing to 1,000 feet. She then joined the Curtiss-Wright Aviators exhibition team, being billed as "The Daring Bird-Girl" and contracted for several exhibitions in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. On June 17, 1912, in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, she decided to make a test flight around dusk. Visibility was poor and, after striking a tree limb, the plane, a

Curtiss pusher The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently "Curtiss Pusher") was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, during an era ...

, tumbled to the ground, pinning her beneath the wreckage. She died after being rushed by automobile to the hospital, having never regained consciousness. Her body was sent to her home in Denver. Clark was the first American woman to die in an air accident, preceding Harriet Quimby's death by two weeks. She was also said to be the first licensed woman pilot to die piloting an aircraft. The previous two woman pilots who died,

Denise Moore Denise Moore (sometimes reported as Deniz Moore), was the pseudonym of Jane Wright (1876 – 21 July 1911), an aviation pioneer. She was the first known female aviator to die in a flight accident. Biography Jane Wright is believed to have been ...

in July 1911 and

Suzanne Bernard Suzanne Bernard (1892 – 10 March 1912) was a pioneer French aviator. She was killed in a plane crash at the age of 19. Bernard was killed at Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located sou ...

in March 1912, died prior to earning their licenses. Moore and Bernard were both attending Henri Farman's flying school, in

Étampes-sur-Marne Étampes-sur-Marne (, literally ''Étampes on Marne'') is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It lies adjacent to the south of the town Château-Thierry. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne de ...

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 ...

at the time of their deaths.

References

External links

Julia Clark
at EarlyAviators.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Julia 1880 births 1912 deaths Aviation pioneers People from Bangor, Michigan Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Illinois American women aviators People from Denver Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1912