Bessie Coleman, African American airplane pilot, 1921-1926

Item Overview

Title

Bessie Coleman, African American airplane pilot, 1921-1926

Alternative title

Bessie Coleman, first female pilot of African descent

Date Created

[1921-1926]

Date

1921/1926

Collection

Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Notes

Description

Bessie Coleman standing alongside a plane in a field. Next to her is an unidentified male pilot. Coleman is wearing a leather pilot's cap, goggles and a jacket. .
Bessie Coleman was an African American civil aviator. She was the first woman of African-American descent to hold a civilian pilot license. Due to discrimination against blacks in the U. S., she traveled to Paris in, 1920 to learn to fly and earn an international pilot's license. She then returned to the United States in 1921 and became a "barnstorming" stunt flier. "Queen Bess," as she was known, was a highly popular draw for the next five years. She was a speaker, was often interviewed by newspapers, and she was admired by both blacks and whites. In 1926 Coleman died in a tragic airplane accident. She was 34 years old.

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Keywords

Genre

photographs

Names

Coleman, Bessie,1892-1926

Resource type

still image

Subjects

Air pilots
African Americans in aeronautics
Aircraft accidents
African American women air pilots