Harriet Quimby (May 11, 1875 – July 1, 1912) was an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and film screenwriter. In 1911, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a pilot's license and in 1912 the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. Although Quimby flew for only one year and died at the age of 37 in a flying accident, she strongly influenced the role of women in aviation.
Harriet Quimby was born on May 11, 1875, in Michigan, to Ursula (née Cook) and William Quimby. With no official birth certificate, her exact place of birth is not known, and many communities in Michigan have claimed to be her birthplace, among them Coldwater and Arcadia Township.
Her father had purchased a farm in Arcadia Township in 1874, where the family was recorded as residing in the 1880 United States Census. They moved to Arroyo Grande, California, between 1887 and 1890. After her family moved to San Francisco, California, in the early 1900s, Quimby initially tried her hand at stage acting, using the stage name "Hazel Quimby". She is known to have appeared in at least two plays: as Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet opposite Linda Arvidson's Juliet (before Arvidson married film director D.W. Griffith), and a minor role in a production of Sappho. Ultimately concluding that acting was not for her, Quimby chose to pursue a career in journalism.
In 1902, Quimby began writing for the San Francisco Dramatic Review as well as contributing to the Sunday editions of the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Call.
In 1903, she moved to Manhattan, New York City to work as a theater critic for Leslie's Illustrated Weekly. She published more than 250 articles over a nine-year period.
Quimby became interested in aviation in 1910 when she attended the International Aviation Meet at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. There, she met John Moisant, a well-known aviator and operator of a flight school. Quimby learned to fly at the Moisant Aviation School, where Alfred Moisant, John Moisant's brother, was her flight instructor.
On August 2, 1911, Quimby passed her pilot's test and became the first North American woman to earn a pilot's license, receiving Fédération Aéronautique Internationale certificate No. 37, issued by the Aero Club of America (ACA). She completed the requirements after 33 flight lessons and two test flights. Her flight instructor's sister, Matilde Moisant, earned her pilot's license shortly thereafter, becoming the second American woman to do so.
After earning her pilot's license, Quimby acted to capitalize on her new status. The press called her the "Dresden China Aviatrix" or "China Doll", because of her petite stature and fair skin. Pilots could earn as much as US$1,000 per performance, and prize money for a race could go as high as $10,000 or more. Quimby joined the Moisant International Aviators, an exhibition team, and made her professional debut in 1911, earning $1,500 in a night flight over Staten Island before a crowd of almost 20,000 spectators.
As one of the country's few female pilots, she capitalized on her femininity by wearing a plum-colored satin blouse, necklace, and antique bracelet, with more practical trousers and high-laced boots. She drew crowds whenever she competed in cross-country meets and races. As part of the exhibition team, Quimby showcased her talents around the United States and traveled to Mexico City at the end of 1911 to participate in aviation activities held in honor of the inauguration of President Francisco I. Madero.
Quimby continued her work as a writer for Leslie's while touring with airshows. She documented her flying experiences in a series of articles, serving as the publication's aviation editor. Ironically, one of the first articles published under her new title was "The Dangers of Flying and How to Avoid Them," an account of pilots who had died and a discussion of the need for proper safety precautions. Despite her knowledge of the risks, and committed to her new passion of flying, she promoted the economic potential of commercial aviation and touted flying as an ideal sport for women.
In 1911 Quimby also wrote seven screenplays or scenarios that were developed as silent film shorts by Biograph Studios. All seven were directed by D. W. Griffith. Stars in her films included Florence La Badie, Wilfred Lucas, and Blanche Sweet. Quimby had a small acting role in one movie.
The Vin Fiz Company, a division of Armour Meat Packing Plant of Chicago, used Quimby to advertise the new grape soda, Vin Fiz, after the death of Calbraith Perry Rodgers in an aviation accident in April 1912. She appeared in advertisements in her distinctive purple aviator uniform.
In March 1912 it was reported in Flight that Quimby was coming to Europe hoping to compete against French female pilots and to find a "fast monoplane" to compete in Chicago the following year. She agreed with Leslies for rights to the story and with the British newspaper The Daily Mirror sponsorship in exchange for exclusivity in the UK.
To make a flight across the English Channel she purchased a 50-hp Gnome-engined Bleriot monoplane in March. The machine was delivered from France on the Saturday before the planned flight and a test flight made by Gustav Hamel on that Sunday. Quimby was staying in Dover under an assumed name. A few friends including Norbert Chereau (manager of Hendon’s Blériot School), Linda Griffith (as she was now) and Carrie Vanderbilt together with reporters, photographers and a Gaumont cinematographic company film crew attended the start of the attempt. On Tuesday April 16, 1912 Hamel took it up for a preliminary flight then at 5:38 pm on April 16, 1912, Quimby took off from Dover, England on a course to Cape Grinez flying at around 2,000 ft. After 59 minutes flying she landed about 25 miles (40 km) from Calais on a beach in Équihen-Plage, Pas-de-Calais "not far from Bleriot's sheds". She was the first woman to pilot an aircraft across the English Channel.
Brian Flood, chairman of the Dover Transport Museum Society said to the BBC "Her instrumentation consisted of a watch and a hand-held compass, and pilot comfort entirely in the hot water bottle she had strapped to her middle." .
Her accomplishment received little media attention however as it occurred the day after news broke of the sinking of the Titanic ocean liner on April 15.
According to the Smithsonian "She became an instant sensation and returned triumphantly to the U.S."
On July 1, 1912, Quimby flew in the Third Harvard-Boston Air Meet at the Harvard Aviation Field at Squantum Point, Quincy, Massachusetts. Although she had obtained her ACA certificate to participate in ACA events, the Boston meet was an unsanctioned contest. Quimby flew out to the Boston Light lighthouse in Boston Harbor at about 3,000 feet (900 m), then returned and circled the airfield.