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HARRIET QUIMBY

Early Bleriot Exhibition Aviatrix

Harriet Quimby was born at Arroya Grande, California, May 1, 1884. Following her education she went into journalism and became a news reported in San Francisco. This led to a position as Drama Editor of [[underline]] Leslie's Weekly [[/underline]] in New York.
In her coverage of notable events she became interested in aviation developments in the New York area. She attended the 1910 Belmont Park Aviation Meet October 22nd to 31st and there became determined to learn to fly. As a result Harriet secretly started to take flying lessons at the newly formed Moisant School of Aviation at Hempstead Plains, Long Island, New York, in late April, 1911.
She started instruction on a Moisant Bleriot-type single seat monoplane, powered by a 3 cylinder, 30 h.p., Anzani engine. She received verbal ground instruction from Andre Houpert and always practiced very early in the morning when no one but Houpert was present. An apt pupil, she was soon making extended hops. She had a minor smashup on May 13th when the running gear collapsed on landing, but she was not injured.
Soon Matilda Moisant and F. deMurias became students and were practicing with her. By late June Harriet was flying circles and staying up until the Anzani engine overheated. In early July she advanced to the 50 h.p., Gnome-engined planes, then began to make extended flights. Later that month she flew her license tests and received F.A.I. Certificate No. 37 on August 1, 1911, flying a 50 h.p., Gnome-engined Moisant-Bleriot monoplane at Mineola, Long Island, New York, to become the first licensed woman pilot in the United States.
A few days after getting her license she flew at Staten Island, New York, and thrilled 20,000 people, then that evening made a flight in bright moonlight.