Matilde E. Moisant

Matilde E. Moisant

Moisant in 1912 wearing a "good luck" swastika medallion.
Born (1878-09-13)September 13, 1878
Earl Park, Indiana, U.S.
Died February 5, 1964(1964-02-05) (aged 85)
Glendale, California, U.S.
Occupation Aviator
Parent(s) Medore Moisant
Josephine Fortier
Matilde Moisant (left) and Harriet Quimby

Matilde Josephine Moisant (September 13, 1878 – February 5, 1964) was an American pioneer aviator. She was the second woman in the United States to get a pilot's license.[1][2]

Early life

Moisant was born on September 13, 1878 in either Manteno, Illinois or Earl Park, Indiana[3][4] to Médore Moisant and Joséphine Fortier.[5] Both places exist in records, but her license from the Aero Club of America shows Earl Park. Both parents were French Canadians.[3] Her siblings include George, John, Annie M.,[4] Charles Alfred,[6] Louise J.[7] and Eunice Moisant. John and Alfred were also aviators.[8] In 1880, the family was living in Manteno, Illinois and her father was working as a farmer.[4][9]

Aviation career

Moisant learned to fly at Alfred's Moisant Aviation School on Long Island, New York.[8] On 17 August 1911,[10] a few weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby received her pilot's certificate, Matilde Moisant became the second woman pilot certified by the Aero Club of America. She pursued a career in exhibition flying.[8] In September 1911, she flew in the air show at Nassau Boulevard airfield in Garden City, New York and, while competing against Hélène Dutrieu, Moisant broke the women's altitude world record and won the Rodman-Wanamaker trophy by flying to 1,200 feet (370 m).[8]

Retirement from flying

Moisant stopped flying on April 14, 1912 in Wichita Falls, Texas when her plane crashed[8] (the same day that the Titanic struck an iceberg).[11] A few months later on 1 July 1912, her friend Harriet Quimby was killed when she fell from her plane.[12] Although Moisant recovered from her injuries, she gave up flying. She spent several years dividing her time between the U.S. and the family plantation in El Salvador, before returning to the Los Angeles area.[13]

Death

Matilde Moisant died in 1964 in Glendale, California, aged 85, and was interred in the Portal of Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.[1][14]

Timeline

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Matilde Moisant, Early Fflyer, Dies". New York Times. 1964-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  2. ↑ "Miss Moisant Wins License. Second Woman In This Country To Prove Her Ability To Fly.". New York Times. 1911-08-14. Retrieved 2008-05-31. Garden City, Long Island. August 13, 1911. With the wind eddies flattened to almost a dead calm, Miss Matilda Moisant, sister of the late John B. Moisant, who was killed at New Orleans last January, distinguished herself this morning as the second woman in this country to win a pilot's license under the rules of the Aero Club of America.
  3. 1 2 3 Lebow 2002, p. 164.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rich 1998, p. 4.
  5. ↑ Rich 1998, p. 1.
  6. ↑ Rich 1998, p. 5.
  7. ↑ Rich 1998, p. 6.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Matilde Moisant". Women in Aviation and Space History. Airandspace.si.edu. Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  9. 1 2 "1880 federal population census: Kankakee and Kendall Counties, Illinois". FamilySearch. Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration. 21 June 1880. p. 40. NARA Series T9, Roll 219. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Erisman, Fred (2009). From birdwomen to skygirls : American girls' aviation stories. Fort Worth, Tex. : TCU Press. p. 45.
  11. ↑ Aldridge 2009, p. 9.
  12. ↑ Courtwright 2005, p. 31.
  13. ↑ Lebow 2002, p. 177.
  14. 1 2 "13 Pioneer Aviators". The Portal of the Folded Wings. North Hollywood, California: Pierce Brothers Valhalla Cemetery. 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.

Bibliography

Further reading

Media related to Matilde Moisant at Wikimedia Commons

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