Born possibly on May 1, 1875, in Coldwater, Michigan (or perhaps, as she later claimed, in 1884 in Arroyo Grande, California╤neither alternative is well attested), Harriet Quimby was educated in public schools. By 1902 she and her family were in any case living in California, and in that year she became a writer for the San Francisco journal Dramatic Review (published by the father of Anita Loos). Later she wrote also for the San Francisco Call and the Chronicle and for magazines. In 1903 she moved to New York City to become drama critic for Leslie╒s Weekly. She became interested in aviation about 1910, and following a visit to an air show at Belmont Park in October of that year she determined to learn to fly herself. She took lessons at the Moisant School of Aviation at Hempstead, Long Island, in the spring of 1911, and on August 1 she became the first woman to qualify for a license (number 37) from the Aero Club of America, the U.S. branch of the FÄdÄration AÄronautique Internationale; she was only the second licensed woman pilot in the world, following the Baroness de la Roche of France. For a time she flew with the Moisant International Aviators, a demonstration team from the school. In October 1911 she flew as part of the inauguration ceremonies for President Francisco Madero of Mexico. She continued to contribute articles to various periodicals as well. On April 16, 1912, after nearly a month of preparation, she became the first woman to pilot an aircraft across the English Channel, guiding her French BlÄriot monoplane from Dover through heavy overcast to Hardelot, France. She was widely celebrated for her feat. In the summer, after participating in several other air meets, she flew to Boston to take part in the Harvard╨Boston Aviation Meet. On July 1, 1912, while piloting her BlÄriot over Dorchester Bay, she lost control; she and a passenger both fell from the rolling craft and were killed.
