Beryl Markham
A fearless aviator who conquered the Atlantic solo from east to west, then penned a luminous memoir of a life spent in the skies and Kenyan wilderness.
1902–1986 (age 84)·British writer, aviator, adventurer, racehorse trainer·Birthday: October 26·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Beryl Markham was forged by the landscape of colonial Kenya, where she arrived as a child. She grew up among the Kipsigis people, learning to hunt and track, before finding her true element not on the savannah, but above it. As a bush pilot in the 1930s, she scouted game for safaris and delivered mail across treacherous terrain, earning a reputation for cool-headed skill. In 1936, she aimed for immortality by attempting a solo flight across the Atlantic from England to North America, a more difficult westward route against the prevailing winds. Her plane, *The Messenger*, crashed in a Nova Scotia bog, but she emerged from the wreckage having achieved the milestone. Years later, at the urging of friends, she wrote 'West with the Night,' a stunningly poetic account of her life that was largely forgotten until a revival in the 1980s cemented her dual legacy as a pioneering aviator and a writer of unexpected genius.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Beryl was born in 1902, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Beryl Was Born
The biggest hits of 1902
Beryl's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1902Born
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Started school
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1915Became a teenager
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1918Could drive
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1920Could vote
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1923Turned 21
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1932Turned 30
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 40
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1952Turned 50
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1962Turned 60
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1972Turned 70
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1982Turned 80
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1986Died at 84
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
Key Achievements
- Became the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west (Britain to North America) in September 1936.
- Authored the memoir 'West with the Night' (1942), which was later rediscovered and hailed as a masterpiece of autobiographical writing.
- Was one of the first professional female bush pilots in Africa, conducting scouting and delivery flights across East Africa.
- Trained racehorses in Kenya, continuing a career in equestrianism that began in her youth.
Did You Know?
She was the first woman in Kenya to receive a racehorse trainer's license.
Her father bred horses, and she became a successful trainer, with one of her horses winning the prestigious Kenya St. Leger.
Author Ernest Hemingway famously wrote in a letter that her book 'made me feel ashamed of myself as a writer.'
She was married three times, including to the writer Raoul Schumacher, who may have helped edit 'West with the Night.'
““I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived in and loved and where all your yesteryears are buried deep, leave it any way except a slow way, leave it the fastest way you can.””
