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Queen Bess

I bet that when you saw the title of this blog you all were thinking it will be about Queen Elizabeth I (1533−1603). Nope. I’m going to introduce you to Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to obtain a pilot’s license and perform a public flight in the United States. She was known for performing daredevil aerial acrobatics and one of her nicknames was “Queen Bess.”

Bessie Coleman, pilot. Photo by anonymous (15 June 1921). National Air and Space Museum. PD-Published before 1 January 1929. Wikimedia Commons.
Bessie Coleman, pilot. Photo by anonymous (15 June 1921). National Air and Space Museum. PD-Published before 1 January 1929. Wikimedia Commons.

Eight years ago, I wrote a blog about another ground-breaking female aviator, Cornelia Fort (Killed in the Service of Her Country–click here to read the blog). Unfortunately, Bessie and Cornelia suffered the same fate seventeen years apart. Read More Queen Bess