<– Click to enjoy In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree, a song from the 1910’s when the Stinson Siblings were learning to fly!
Katherine Stinson was born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 14, 1891. Katherine began taking flying lessons in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri with the hopes that she could make money as a pilot and then study on becoming a concert pianist in Europe.
Katherine’s flight instructor was Max Lillie, who took her on as a student after she was rejected by other schools due to her gender and small stature. Stinson received her pilot’s license (No. 148th in the United States!) and became the 4th American woman to become a licensed pilot.
From the beginning and throughout her flying career, Stinson put far more emphasis on aircraft maintenance than her contemporaries. Katherine believed that the deaths of some early aviators, including her old instructor Max Lillie, were due to their lack at attention to airplane maintenance.
Stinson raised money and achieved publicity by exhibition flying. She also carried mail for the U.S. Postal Service. Stinson was the first female to perform the loop-the-loop and reportedly was the first person in the world to make discernible letters in the sky with fireworks and smoke.
In 1916-1917, Katherine completed an exhibition tour of Japan and China becoming the first American woman to fly in Eastern Asia.
When World War I began, Katherine trained U.S. and Canadian pilots and raised $2 million for the Red Cross. Stinson then went to France and served as the Red Cross ambulance driver and pilot. Unfortunately, while in France, Katherine became ill with a lung disease called tuberculosis. She would suffer from this disease for the rest of her life.
In the early 1920’s health problems due to tuberculosis forced Katherine to retire from aviation completely and move to New Mexico. She married Miguel A. Otero, Jr. Miguel and Katherine had no children, but raised two of Katherine’s nieces.
Katherine worked as an architect in Santa Fe where she restored eighteenth century homes and public buildings. Katherine died in 1977 at the age of 86.
Want to know more about the life of this extraordinary woman? Click the video below to watch a three-minute film on Katherine Stinson’s life and achievements:
Next we’ll learn about Katherine’s sister Marjorie.
