Louise McPhetridge Thaden

Louise McPhetridge Thaden (born Nov. 12, 1905, Bentonville, Ark., U.S.—died Nov. 9, 1979, High Point, N.C.) was an American aviator, holder of several speed and endurance records in the early years of competitive flying. Possibly the best-known female pilot of the 1930s after Amelia Earhart, she used her fame as a competitor to promote the status of women in aviation and to draw more women into the profession. (Read Orville Wright’s 1929 biography of his...