Matilde E. Moisant
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Matilde E. Moisant (September 13, 1878 - February 5, 1964), was an American pioneer aviator.
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[edit] Birth
She was born in Earl Park, Indiana to Medore Moisant (1839-?) and Josephine Fortier. Both parents were from Canada. Her siblings include: George Moisant (1866-?); John Moisant (1868-1910); Annie M. Moisant (1877-?); Alfred Moisant (c1881-?); Louisa J. Moisant (1884-?); and possibly Eunice Moisant (1890-?) who was born in Illinois. John and Alfred were also aviators. In 1880 the family was living in Manteno, Illinois and her father was working as a farmer.
[edit] Aviator
She learned to fly at Alfred's Aviation School on Long Island, New York. In 1911, a few weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby received her pilot's license, Matilde Moisant became the second woman pilot to receive licensing from the Aero Club of America. She pursued a career in exhibition flying, and in September of 1911, she won the Rodman-Wanamaker altitude trophy by flying to an altitude of 1,200 feet.
[edit] Stopped flying
She stopped flying on April 14, 1912, in Wichita Falls, Texas when her plane crashed. Although she recovered from her injuries, she gave up flying, and moved to the family plantation in San Salvador.
[edit] California
In 1920 she was living in Los Angeles with her sister Eunice Moisant, and both were not working. In 1930 she was living at 2540 Olive Road in La Crescenta, California and still not working, most likely living off the income from her brother's estate.
[edit] Death
Matilde Moisant died in 1964 in Glendale, California and was interred in the Portal of Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
[edit] Timeline
- 1878 Birth in Indiana
- 1880 Living in Manteno, Kankakee, Illinois
- 1880 US Census in Manteno, Illinois
- 1900 US Census in California
- 1910 Death of John B. Moisant, her bother
- 1911 Received pilot's license
- 1911 Won Rodman-Wanamaker altitude trophy
- 1912 Crash in Texas on April 14th
- 1920 Living in Los Angeles, California
- 1920 US Census in Los Angeles, California
- 1930 US Census in La Crescenta, California
- 1964 Death in California
- 1964 Burial In Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
[edit] Selected coverage in the New York Times
- New York Times; May 11, 1911; pg. 6; "Woman in trousers daring aviator. Long Island Folk Discover That Miss Harriet Quimby Is Making Flights at Garden City. Garden City, Long Island; May 10, 1911. Rumors that there was a young woman aviator at the Moisant Aviation School here who made daily flights at 4:30 A.M. have brought many Garden City folk and townspeople from Hempstead and Mineola to the flying grounds here on several mornings. These early risers have seen a slender, youthful figure in aviation jacket and trousers of wool-backed satin, with ..."
- New York Times; August 14, 1911. "Miss Moisant wins license. Second woman in this country to prove her ability to fly. Garden City, Long Island; August 13, 1911. With the wind eddies flattened to almost a dead calm, Miss Matilda Moisant, sister of the late John B. Moisant, who was killed at New Orleans last January, distinguished herself this morning as the second woman in this country to win a pilot's license under the rules of the Aero Club of America."
- New York Times; Oct 09, 1911; pg. 1; "Escapes sheriff in her aeroplane; Matilde Moisant Takes to the Air Before He Can Arrest Her. Matilde Moisant, who became America's most notable woman flier after seeing her brother, the late John B. Moisant, make his celebrated flight around the Statue of Liberty, narrowly missed being thrown into jail yesterday in Nassau County for going into the air in her monoplane on Sunday.
- New York Times; Feb 7, 1964; pg. 31; "Matilde Moisant, early flyer, dies; Second Woman in Country to Get Pilot's License."
[edit] References
- Rich, D. L.: The Magnificent Moisants - Champions of Early Flight; Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. ISBN 1-560-98860-6.
[edit] Further reading
- Oakes, C. M.: United States Women in Aviation Through World War I; Smithsonian Institution Press, 1978.
