File:Bessie_Coleman_in_1923.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Born
- ( 1892-01-26 ) January 26, 1892, Atlanta, Texas , U.S.
- Died
- April 30, 1926 (1926-04-30) (aged 34), Jacksonville, Florida , U.S.
- Cause of death
- Plane crash
- Burial place
- Lincoln Cemetery , Cook County, Illinois
- Known for
- First African-American and Native American female aviator
- Spouse
- Claude Glenn ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1917 , separated soon after )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Elizabeth
- Family name
- Coleman
- Gender
- female
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Atlanta
- Place of death
- Jacksonville
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Movement
- Harlem Renaissance
- Official website
- www.bessiecoleman.org
- Image
- Bessie Coleman in 1923.jpg
- Work location
- Chicago
- Residence
- Langston
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- Bessie Coleman
- date of birth
- 1892-01-26
- date of death
- 1926-04-30
- manner of death
- accidental death
- Commons gallery
- B
- ethnic group
- African Americans
- birth name
- Elizabeth Coleman
- cause of death
- aviation accident
- nickname
- Brave Bessie
- assessment
- pilot licensing and certification
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Elizabeth Coleman (January 26, 1892 – April 30, 1926) was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license, and is the earliest known Black person to earn an international pilot's license. She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921.
Born to a family of sharecroppers in Texas, Coleman worked in the cotton fields at a young age while also studying in a small segregated school. She attended one term of college at Langston University. Coleman developed an early interest in flying, but African Americans, Native Americans, and women had no flight training opportunities in the United States, so she saved and obtained sponsorships in Chicago to go to France for flight school.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bessie Coleman” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.