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Rig 3rd Copy [[stamped]] FROM THE FLYING PIONEERS BIOGRAPHIES OF HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE [[/stamped]] KATHERINE STINSON Early Wright Exhibition Pilot - Instructor First Licensed Woman Wright Pilot in the World Third Licensed Woman Pilot in the United States [[image]] Katherine Stinson was born at Fort Payne, Mississippi. She attended local schools and developed an early interest in music. She dreamed of a career as an accomplished pianist but was not financially able to have an advanced musical education. She [[strikethrough]] then began to [[/strikethrough]] read about the big prize money [[strikethrough]] early [[/strikethrough]] aviators were making and this seemed to be a way she might earn the means to further her musical education. She started to enthusiastically investigate the possibilities of learning to fly, and made a balloon ascension with Lt. H. E. Honeywell at Kansas City, Missouri on August 31st, 1911. That fall she enrolled for a flying course at the Kansas City Flying School which folded up shortly after she became a student, so she went to St. Louis where she had her first plane ride with Tony Jannus in a Benoist plane at Kinloch Field on January 21st, 1912. She then enrolled as a student but this [[strikethrough]] seemingly [[/strikethrough]] did not work out so she went to Chicago in March to investigate schools there. A small frail girl, there was general doubt of her ability to ever handle a plane. The Mills School rejected her application, but later Max Lillie took her on as a student when he started his sprint class at Cicero Field in May. Also in 1