What event overshadowed Harriet Quimby being the first woman to fly over the English Channel?
Out in the mist on that fog-laden day of April 15, 1912, something else was happening while the Titanic sank deep into the Atlantic Ocean. As the ship went down into the ocean’s darkest deep – a pilot yearned to venture up where few had gone and little was known. Harriet Quimby prepared herself and her plane to claim the record for the first female to pilot across the English Channel. Quimby already earned the title of first American woman to earn a pilot’s license and now she was off on another adventure. Inclement weather delayed her flight for many days and she waited for it to clear before attempting the daring feat. It was a dangerous journey in a new era of aeronautics particularly with the icy water of the treacherous North Sea looming nearby. Further west on the same coast of England, where Quimby began her flight, the Titanic started its fated journey across the icy North Atlantic Ocean. On April 16, 1912, as news of the Titanic spread across the Headlines, Harriet Quimby cros
n April 16, 1912, Harriet Quimby flew over the English Channel, from Dover, England to Calais, France. She was the first woman in the world to perform what was then, one of the most daring flight endeavors ever. The story behind the scenes shows a determined woman: she wanted the fame of being the first woman pilot to follow Luis Bleriot’s success (who was the first man to fly over the English Channel, in his Bleriot monoplane). Fearful that a European woman would beat her to the punch, Harriet kept her plans secret. Bad weather grounded her for several days before the flight, and when she finally made it; then ironically, her success was overshadowed by the tragic news of the Titanic sinking. This story shows that sometimes our plans of greatness or notoriety can be obscured by unexpected events. Harriet Quimby’s flight’s historical importance cannot be denied, however, at the time, her plans of becoming as famous as Luis Bleriot failed, because the media covered more the news of a tr
On April 16, 1912, Harriet Quimby flew over the English Channel, from Dover, England to Calais, France. She was the first woman in the world to perform what was then, one of the most daring flight endeavors ever. The story behind the scenes shows a determined woman: she wanted the fame of being the first woman pilot to follow Luis Bleriot’s success (who was the first man to fly over the English Channel, in his Bleriot monoplane). Fearful that a European woman would beat her to the punch, Harriet kept her plans secret. Bad weather grounded her for several days before the flight, and when she finally made it; then ironically, her success was overshadowed by the tragic news of the Titanic sinking.
