歷史上第一位飛越英吉利海峽的女飛行員

Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to become a licensed pilot, was born on this day in 1875 on a Michigan farm.

1875年的今天，第一位持證的美國女飛行員——哈麗雅特·昆比(Harriet Quimby)在密歇根州的一個農(nóng)場出生。

She was also the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel, in 1912. (The French aviator Louis Blériot was the first man to accomplish that feat, three years earlier.)

1912年，她成為第一位飛越英吉利海峽的女性。(三年前，法國飛行員路易斯·布萊里奧[Louis Blériot]是第一個完成這一壯舉的男性。)

Quimby received her pilot’s license — the second woman anywhere to do so — when she was 36, in August 1911. The next month she flew by moonlight at the Staten Island Fair, circling the fairgrounds four times. “It was a great temptation not to keep right on flying until I got to New York,” she told reporters afterward.

1911年8月，36歲的昆比獲得了飛行員執(zhí)照——她是全世界的第二位女性。第二個月，她乘著月光在斯塔滕島集市(Staten Island Fair)上圍繞集市飛了四圈。“在我到達紐約之后，飛行才成為一個很大的誘惑，”她事后告訴記者。

Before becoming a pilot, Quimby was a writer, critic and photographer for Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. She became interested in aviation after working on the magazine’s issue devoted to the topic; she later attended the international air meet at New York’s Belmont Park and started classes.

在成為飛行員之前，昆比是《萊斯利畫報周刊》(Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly)的作者、評論員和攝影師。她在參與了雜志的飛行主題專刊后，對這項活動產(chǎn)生了興趣;后來，她參加了在紐約貝爾蒙特公園(Belmont Park)舉行的國際航空會議(international air meet)，并開始上飛行課。

Less than a year after earning her license, Quimby was killed during an air show in Massachusetts.

在獲得執(zhí)照不到一年后，昆比在馬薩諸塞州的一次空中表演中喪生。

Before the fatal flight, Quimby had discussed the possibility of a water landing, saying with a smile: “But I am a cat and I do not like cold water.”

在那次致命的飛行之前，她討論了水上降落的可能性，微笑著說：“但我是一只貓，我不喜歡冷水。”