Today we are celebrating Therese Peltier (1873 - 1926). Peltier was renowned for being a talented sculptor before her foray into aviation. However, she later went on to become known as the first woman to fly as a passenger in an aircraft (though this has been disputed). She was accompanied by fellow sculptor and friend Leon Delagrange.
She went on to learn to fly by herself and made several solo flights, though she never earned a pilot’s license. Leon Delagrange proved to be a hugely influential figure in her life and his forward-thinking support of women in aviation clearly encouraged Peltier. In 1908 Delagrange offered a prize of 1000 francs to the first female aviator to pilot a plane for one kilometre. Peltier began training; however when Delagrange died in an aviation accident in 1920 she quit aviation.
Peltier is a great example of a woman who pursued a significant career change in order to pursue her love of aviation engineering. This makes Peltier not only remarkable for her time but also today.
Every day this week we will be looking at a remarkable woman in aerospace, join our community to keep up-to-date.
What women do you think have been pioneers in the aviation and space industries?
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