Bessie Coleman, born in 1892, was an American daredevil aviator who died on April 30, 1926.
She was the world’s first black female aviator to obtain a pilot’s license (1921). Her father was of mostly Cherokee descent, making her also the first female of native American descent to earn a pilot’s license. U.S. pilot schools were unwilling to take a black female student, so she learned French and went to Paris to earn her license.
She died in a plane crash while preparing for a show. While flying as a passenger with a student pilot, the plane suffered a mechanical failure and spun out of control. Not seat belted in, she fell out of the plane and plummeted to her death. The pilot died in the crash.
Bessie Coleman, who died April 30, 1926, had a true adventurous spirit.
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Northern News 