12 Badass Women to Celebrate on Aviation Day

Even today, the skies remain male-dominated. By the end of 2013, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, women still only made up 6.6 percent of pilots worldwide.

Today, August 19, is National Aviation Day in the United States. In honor of this celebration, here are 12 women pioneers who have inspired generations of aviators.

1. An actress, writer, and photojournalist, Harriet Quimby became the first American woman to earn a pilot’s license and cross the English Channel.
   
   
2. A woman of African American descent wasn’t allowed to earn a pilot’s license in the United States, so Bessie Coleman went to France and became the first African American of any gender to earn her international pilot’s license in 1921.
   
   
3. The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic? Why Amelia Earhart, of course.
   
   
4. Another Amelia Earhart (no relation) flew around the world and landed successfully in Oakland, California, on June 11, 2014, ending a journey that she hoped would inspire female aviators.
   
   
5. We also honor the American first woman to go into space, Sally Ride. “We remember Sally Ride not just as a national hero, but as a role model to generations of young women,” said President Barack Obama upon Ride’s death in 2012.

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