Bessie Coleman was the first African American Women To obtain a pilot’s license.
Coleman, who received nicknames such as “Brave Bessie” and “Queen Bessie,” spent her life teaching others about aviation, performing in flight shows and encouraging others, especially African Americans and women, to pursue their dreams.
Coleman’s life was tragically cut short in a flying accident on April 30, 1926, but his legacy lives on today.
Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Read about Coleman and how he went about obtaining his pilot’s license.
- What is Bessie Coleman known for?
- What did Bessie Coleman do in her early life?
- How did Bessie Coleman change the world?
- How did Bessie Coleman die?
1. What is Bessie Coleman known for?
According to the U.S. National Women’s History Museum, Coleman was the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn a pilot’s license.
He developed an interest in flying after his brothers served in the army According to the source, when he came home he told stories of women in France who were able to learn to fly planes.
This inspired Coleman to pursue a pilot’s license, but he had no success in the United States, and was rejected by schools across the country.
On the advice of Robert Abbott, founder of the Chicago Defender newspaper, he training in france, According to the National Air and Space Museum.
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According to the U.S. National Women’s History Museum, she was admitted to the Caudron Brothers School of Aviation at Le Crotoy, France, and received her international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921.
Bessie Coleman attended the Caudron Brothers School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France. She returned to the United States after receiving her pilot’s license. (George Reinhart/Corbis via Getty Images)
After earning her license, she returned to the United States, where she gave flying lessons and also performed flying shows. She was famous for performing tricks such as “loop the loops” and making figure eights in the sky.
2. What did Bessie Coleman do in her early life?
Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1892. She grew up in a large family with 12 siblings.
When she was young, her father, George Coleman, moved back to Oklahoma in hopes of escaping discrimination in Texas, according to the U.S. National Women’s History Museum.
His mother, Suzanne Coleman, and the children remained there.
In her early life, before earning her pilot’s license, Coleman helped her mother pick cotton and wash clothes for extra money, according to the U.S. National Women’s History Museum.
3. How did Bessie Coleman change the world?
According to the US Mint, throughout her life, Coleman refused to perform in any place that discriminated against or ostracized African Americans. Thus, she became a strong advocate for equal rights.
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After earning a pilot’s license, she toured the country giving flight lessons and encouraging African Americans and women to take flying lessons.
On Sept. 3, 1922, she performed the first public flight by an African American woman in the United States, according to Britannica.
During her flying career, Coleman saved enough money to buy her own plane, the Jenny — a JN-4 with an OX-5 engine, according to the U.S. National Museum of American History.
After obtaining a pilot’s license, Bessie Coleman performed flying shows in several locations, including her home state of Texas. (Photosearch/Getty Images)
When she returned to isolation Texas State, To invite the singer who was coming to perform in her home state, the event managers had planned to make two separate entrances.
The source said Coleman refused to perform under these conditions and after discussions, the management decided to agree to his demand and only one gate was kept for the event, though all parts of the stadium were kept separate.
4. How did Bessie Coleman die?
On April 30, 1936, Coleman was on a test flight with a mechanic named William Wills, who was flying the plane. Coleman was sitting as a passenger.
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According to the American Women’s History Museum, the plane flipped over in mid-air after a loose wrench got stuck in the engine, causing Coleman, who was not wearing a seat belt, to be thrown out of the plane because the plane’s roof was open.
According to the source, Wills died in a plane crash.
Coleman was 34 years old at the time of his death.
Today, Coleman’s influence and legacy live on.
there have been many Aviation club named after him, Such as the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, which began in the 1930s, and the Bessie Coleman Aviators, which began in Chicago in the 1970s, as the American Women’s History Museum reveals.
According to the source, in his honor, a flight has been flown over his grave annually by the Challenger Pilots Association since 1931.
In 2023, there was a special quarter minted by the US Mint featuring Pilot. This quarter was released as part of their American Women’s Quarters program. The program began in 2022, and is planned to run until 2025. According to the US Mint, it was designed to celebrate “the achievements and contributions made by the women of the United States.”
