Bessie Coleman
A barnstorming aviator who, barred from U.S. flight schools, taught herself French to earn her wings abroad.
1892–1926 (age 34)·Afro-Indigenous pioneer in aviation·Birthday: January 26·The Lost Generation
Biography
Bessie Coleman stared down a double barrier of race and gender with sheer force of will. Working as a manicurist in Chicago, she heard stories of World War I pilots and set her sights on the sky. Every U.S. flight school slammed its door. Undeterred, she learned French, sailed to Europe, and in 1921 earned her international pilot's license from France's Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, becoming the first African American and first Native American woman to do so. Returning to America as 'Queen Bess,' she refused to perform for segregated audiences, becoming a dazzling barnstormer and a powerful symbol of Black aspiration. Her dream of opening a flight school for African Americans was cut short by her tragic death in a plane accident, but her defiant journey inspired generations of pilots and astronauts to follow.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Bessie was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost 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 Bessie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Bessie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 30
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1926Died at 34
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
Key Achievements
- Earned an international pilot's license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in France on June 15, 1921, a first for an African American woman.
- Became a famous barnstorming pilot in the United States, performing daring aerial tricks for crowds.
- Used her celebrity to advocate for racial equality, refusing to speak or perform at segregated venues.
- Inspired the founding of Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs, which promoted aviation in Black communities.
Did You Know?
She was of both African American and Native American (Cherokee) descent.
To save money for flight school, she worked as a manicurist in Chicago barber shops.
The famous publisher Robert S. Abbott, founder of the Chicago Defender, was one of her early financial backers.
A year after her death, the first all-Black air show was held in Los Angeles in her honor.
Pilots and astronauts have flown with her photo or carried mementos of her into space.
““The air is the only place free from prejudices.””
