Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot's license in 1910, issued by the Aero Club of France after she taught herself to fly a rudimentary biplane.

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Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot's license in 1910, issued by the Aero Club of France after she taught herself to fly a rudimentary biplane. Prior to her aviation career, she was an accomplished actress and balloonist, transitioning to airplanes simply because early motorized flight offered a much more exhilarating way to risk immediate, fiery death. Her achievements totally shattered the fragile masculine egos of early twentieth-century aviators, proving that dodging mechanical failures in a canvas-and-wood death trap was an equal opportunity sport. We owe a debt of gratitude to pioneers like Laroche, who valiantly paved the way for modern female pilots to confidently apologize over the intercom for the unbearable turbulence you are currently experiencing