1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy be Wilson. And today's 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: topic is one that I have been scribbling in various 5 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: notebooks for years. I kind of keep a notebook that's 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: my to do list and schedule er, and then I 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: will move to the next one, and I will scribble 8 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: it in the next one and go, oh, revisit that one, 9 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: to keep a section at the back for those scribbles. 10 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: And you have actually heard an abbreviated version of her 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: story on the show before she appeared in the episode 12 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: by Sarah and Bblina titled four Flights of Female Aviators. 13 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: But to me, calling her an aviator kind of ignores 14 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: what you could argue is really the biggest part of 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: her life, which is journalism. That previous episode touches on 16 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: her journalism a bit, but it really did seem that 17 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: Quimby actually carved out a very nice life for herself 18 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: health by merging her love of adventure with really quite 19 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: a knack for writing. And she always said that her 20 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: career was the most important, and she did things to 21 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: sort of protect her career, which we'll talk about in 22 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: the episode. And it can be a little bit tricky 23 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: to get a sense of this person's life, which is 24 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: Harriet Quimby, uh, prettily her early life, because she herself 25 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: sometimes changed the details in telling her life story in 26 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: an effort to sort of craft this public persona that 27 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,839 Speaker 1: was different than her private persona. And we'll talk about 28 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: kind of where that originates. It seems almost like a 29 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: theme lately, right, I mean, we we run into that 30 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: a lot, and it was certainly way easier in the 31 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: late eighteen hundreds, in early nineteen hundreds to go. You know, 32 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna tweak this a little. No one will know. 33 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: But even though she did remain very private about a 34 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: lot of her her personal details in her personal life, 35 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: throughout her entire life, her public life was very well 36 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: documented and she was something of a celebrity journalist in 37 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: her day, even before she became amoss for her feet 38 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: to flying. But of course, what truly made her famous 39 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: on the world stage was aviation. Quimby was born in Coldwater, Michigan, 40 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: on Man. Cold Water is in Branch County, which is 41 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: roughly the midpoint between Chicago and Detroit. Her parents were 42 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: William Quimby and Ursula Cook Quimby. William was from an 43 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: Irish immigrant family and Ursula was from a comfortable and 44 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: pretty progressive New York family. William had served in the 45 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: Union Army in the US Civil War and met Ursula 46 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: after he was discharged due to illness. After they met 47 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: in New York, they moved to Michigan to get married 48 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 1: and start a family. Harriet was their tenth child, but 49 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: one of only two, the other being a sister named Helen, 50 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,679 Speaker 1: who survived into adulthood. And there's no birth certificate that's 51 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: ever been found for Harriet, and her birthplace has often 52 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: been misreported because she frequently told people that she had 53 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: been born in California, San Francisco specifically, and she did 54 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: spend some of her childhood in Arroyo Grande, California. That's 55 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: about two hundred and fifty miles or a little more 56 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: than four hundred kilometers south of San Francisco. The Quimby's 57 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,079 Speaker 1: moved to California when Harriet was little, but then they 58 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: moved again within California four so she was settled in 59 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: San Francisco by the time she was about nine, but 60 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: even before they got to California, they had moved from Coldwater, Michigan, 61 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: to the township of Arcadia in Manistee County. You will 62 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: sometimes see that listed also is her place of birth. 63 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: All of these places get listed as her place of 64 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: birth depending on what source you're looking at. Uh And 65 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: they had made that move from place to place in 66 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: Michigan after their first farm failed and that second effort 67 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: at farming in Michigan didn't succeed either, nor did Williams 68 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: other job, which was running a general store, and all 69 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: that is why they moved west in search of better opportunities. 70 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: They ended up farming once again in Arroyo Grande and 71 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: struggling financially, just as they had back in Michigan. William 72 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: eventually took work in a dairy to support the family, 73 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: and then they moved once more, this time to San Francisco. 74 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,039 Speaker 1: Things were a little bit better with the family there. 75 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: William worked as a salesman and Ursula sewed packing bags 76 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 1: for fruit companies. Yeah, Ursula also was from a family 77 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,919 Speaker 1: that involved some chemists when she was back east, and 78 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: so she also started concocting various potions and whatnot, and 79 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: William would self um One of the things that Harriet 80 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: was really good at throughout her life was sort of 81 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: being the person that people wanted her to be. So 82 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,679 Speaker 1: when she met with the public, she was often characterized 83 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: not having come from a poor farming family, but having 84 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: been from a wealthy family, and she seemed pretty inclined 85 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: to go along with that. Rather than divulging that she 86 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: had actually grown up poor on a rural farm and 87 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: is a sort of middle ground between the truth and 88 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: the falsehood, she would mention instead that her parents were 89 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: from the eastern part of the country. In a May 90 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve article that appeared in the Baltimore, Maryland paper 91 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: The Evening Sun, this bolsterring of her parents backgrounds as 92 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: part of her story becomes really clear. It reads quote, 93 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: Although she is a Californian by birth and has many 94 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: Western ideas, she first saw the light of day in 95 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 1: San Francisco. Her mother is a New Yorker and her 96 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: father hails from New England. Her father, by the way, 97 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: is more or less conservative and is not at all 98 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: favorably impressed by his daughter's flightly tendencies. Her mother, however, 99 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: is extremely sympathetic, and it has been suggested that she 100 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: too may take flight one of these days, at least 101 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: as a passenger in her daughter's airplane. Yes, so they 102 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: were always kind of refining this image of the family. 103 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: Uh and this shifting of the facts of Harriet's early 104 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: years is also often attributed to her mother. Really, Ursula 105 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: Quimby is believed to have been really quite disillusioned after 106 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: the failed farms in the store, and she wanted her 107 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: daughters to not depend on a husband for a living. 108 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: All mention of Harriet's sister actually vanishes from the family story. 109 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: Shortly after they moved to California, she eloped and moved away, 110 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: but Harriet remained, and it seems that Ursula focused all 111 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: of her energies on ensuring that her remaining daughter was 112 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: prepared to make her own way in the world. Harriet 113 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: graduated from high school in Los Gatos, California. In it's 114 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: unclear exactly when, but at some point in her life 115 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: as a young woman, her mother Ursula started telling people 116 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 1: not only that Harriet had been born in Boston, but 117 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: also that she had gone to school in France and Switzerland. 118 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: Ursula also fudged her daughter's age a lot, saying that 119 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 1: she was nine years younger than she really was. Whether 120 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: this was intended to make people think that Quimby was 121 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: some sort of wunderkinned or for some other reason, that's 122 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 1: not really clear. Well, and especially when someone is like 123 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: still quite young, like in their twenties, even to say 124 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:16,119 Speaker 1: that their nine years younger is uh the big gap. 125 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: So like when when Harriet was, you know, twenty four, 126 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: she was still telling people she was only fifteen. Ursula 127 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: really wanted above all else for her daughter to be 128 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: a modern career woman, again going back to that fear 129 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: that requiring a man to support you would be let down, 130 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: And she specifically wanted her to be a journalist because 131 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: Mrs Quimby thought that that was a career that would 132 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: open doors. But at the time, Harriet actually wanted to act. 133 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,559 Speaker 1: She wanted to be an actor, and she did without 134 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: any apparent training. She started acting in plays in the 135 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: San Francisco area, and she also worked as a retail clerk, 136 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: and through those two jobs she eventually was supporting herself 137 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: and largely her parents, although they were also still bringing 138 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: in a small amount of money through their own endeavors. 139 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: Harriet's stage name was Hazel Quimby, and she really hustled 140 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: to make this acting dream work. Along with friends, she 141 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: convinced San Francisco's mayor to lend them the money to 142 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: rent a theater for the production of Romeo and Juliet 143 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: Hazel Slash. Harriet played Romeo, and she'd gotten an entertainment 144 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: journalist she knew and was friends with to review the production. 145 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: That led to Harriet getting more roles and other shows. 146 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: Throughout this time, she became deeply entrenched in the city's 147 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: art scene. Yeah, pretty early on she saw like journalism 148 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: has a power it can make or break people. That 149 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: becomes more and more important to her. But it was 150 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: through those connections on the art scene and is a 151 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: member of San Francisco's Bohemian club, that Harriet actually started 152 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: working herself as a journalist. In nineteen o one, when 153 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: it started to become a parent that acting was not 154 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: going to bring in enough money. She wrote an article 155 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: called the Artist's Colony at Monterey for The Call, and 156 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: it was a Sunday feature and in that article she 157 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: wrote about the coastal town and its beauty. Later, she 158 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: made stabs into writing short fiction, including an article called 159 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: A Night at a Haunted House, which was published on 160 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: February second ninety two in the San Francisco Chronicle. But 161 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,079 Speaker 1: news was really where Harriet Quimby flourished as a writer, 162 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: and while she primarily covered the arts in San Francisco 163 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: for both The Call and the Chronicle, she also wrote 164 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,319 Speaker 1: on a variety of topics, including everything from sex trafficking 165 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: to hospital reform. She wrote a great deal about San 166 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 1: Francisco's Chinese community. She wrote about issues like voting rights 167 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: for women, which she strongly supported, although she didn't identify 168 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: as a feminist, she felt that label and some of 169 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: the movements associated with it, actually caused more discord than solutions. 170 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: As she was really starting to develop up a pretty 171 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: solid career, there were rumors about her having various romantic partners, 172 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: but there's no clear evidence of her ever having been 173 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: seriously involved with anyone. She seemed to be focused almost 174 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: entirely on her work, which was both gaining her notice 175 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: and respect, and she decided, after having gotten a taste 176 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:22,439 Speaker 1: of all that, that the next logical step for her 177 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: career was to move to New York and work as 178 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: a journalist there. So in early nine three, she did 179 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: just that, Despite the fact that she knew no one 180 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: in New York, and she didn't even know at the 181 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: time where any of the major newspapers offices were. We'll 182 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: talk about her arrival in New York after we take 183 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. After Harriet got to New York, 184 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: she spent one night at the Pennsylvania Hotel, and then 185 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: the next morning she arranged to rent a room in 186 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: a boarding house at sixty eight and Third. That was 187 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,080 Speaker 1: a connection she had made through a reference that one 188 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: of her San Francisco editors had given her. And after 189 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: her lodging was sorted, she took her portfolio of published 190 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: pieces from her work on the West Coast and some 191 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: new writing that she had done on the five day 192 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 1: trip across the country, and she started visiting publication offices 193 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 1: looking for work. Her first stop was at Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, 194 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: which is a publication that comes up as in the 195 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: show as having articles about topics that we're talking about. 196 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: She spoke with two assistant editors who seemed to like her, 197 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: but she had to return the next day to meet 198 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: the editor in chief before any decisions could be made. 199 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: After going through one of her samples and verbally telling 200 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: her all of the edits that he would make which 201 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: was just not a level of criticism that she was 202 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: accustomed to. The editor John why Foster offered her a 203 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: job on a trial basis. He also asked if she 204 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: shouldn't try a more conventional job for a woman, and 205 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: she told him she was a better writer than she 206 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: was a cook. Three later, Foster published Harriet's article Curious 207 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: Chinese Customs, in which she described the tradition of Chinese 208 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: paper offerings. That article was picked up by several other outlets. 209 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,560 Speaker 1: Yeah right away, her work was super popular. She and 210 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: Foster actually ended up being great friends for years and years. 211 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: But it was kind of the way it's described sounds 212 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: like a tug of war in the beginning of here's 213 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: everything wrong with this article? Uh, you you seem plucky, though, 214 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 1: so I'll try it. And when he asked her if 215 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: she shouldn't try doing something that was a more natural 216 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: fit for a woman, her perception was that it was 217 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: a test and that if she was like well, maybe 218 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: he would have been like, get out. But instead she's like, no, 219 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: this is really all I do. After the success of 220 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 1: that first article, she took assignments for Leslie's and she 221 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: wrote a series on the lives of the occupants of 222 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: tenements in New York. She also campaigned to be given 223 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,200 Speaker 1: a regular sea at a review column. She still loved 224 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: the arts, and she was granted that, and soon after 225 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: that she was just given the title of drama critic 226 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: because she did so well, and this was a role 227 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: that she filled with enthusiasm. Often her coverage included interviews 228 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: with actors and various shows, a number of which she 229 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: had met or been friends with back in San Francisco, 230 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: And if she didn't know someone, she was still usually 231 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: able to win them over and get them to consent 232 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,679 Speaker 1: to a conversation about their work on their record. One 233 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 1: of her great successes as the paper's drama critic was 234 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: a section at the end of her weekly column that 235 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,959 Speaker 1: offered a list of which plays a man might safely 236 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: take his wife or daughter too. I have thoughts, uh 237 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: I do too. It's sort of charming and insulting all 238 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: at the same time. It's the tangle. Quimby was doing 239 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,520 Speaker 1: well at this time. She may not have been working 240 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: exclusively for Leslie's. It's possible she was also writing for 241 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: other publications under other pen names, although there's no solid 242 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: evidence there, but she was making enough that she was 243 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: able to move out of the boarding house into a 244 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: place of her own at Hotel Victoria and Broadway. That 245 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: was convenient it put her closer to work. In addition 246 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: to moving into a nicer place, Harry had also started 247 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: traveling for work. She went on assignment to Cuba to 248 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: write a series of stories for Leslie's and subsequently she 249 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: became the papers travel correspondent. After that, she traveled the 250 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: world in search of stories. And while she had been 251 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: living in San Francisco, she had become friends with German 252 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: American photographer Arnold Genta, and he had taught her how 253 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: to take photographs. This skill really served her well in 254 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: her new role because she was able to photograph her 255 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: travels throughout Europe, Africa, and South America herself, making her 256 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: a photojournalist as well. The first years of the nineteen 257 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: hundreds had really offered Harriet Quimby exactly the life she wanted, 258 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: one that was filled with success and adventure. This is 259 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: also the time when automobiles are being developed, both for 260 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: racing and for a wider consumer market. Quimby had rid 261 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: in a race car on Long Island while covering the 262 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 1: topic for a paper, and after that she really wanted 263 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: to learn to drive. She took lessons, got her license, 264 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: and bought herself a Model t in nineteen o eight. 265 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: Over the next several years, she tracked the growing popularity 266 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: of automobiles and the United States with a particular eye 267 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: toward women drivers, noting that driving eventually became a fashionable 268 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: activity for a modern woman. She also used her platform 269 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: as a writer to encourage women to learn how their 270 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: cars worked for themselves they would not be taken advantage 271 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 1: of by mechanics. As an aside, you might sometimes see 272 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: Harriet Quimby touted as the first woman to receive a 273 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: driver's license in the United States. That isn't entirely accurate. 274 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: Uh Anne Rainsford French was given a license to drive 275 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: a quote four wheeled vehicle powered by steam or gas 276 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen hundred, so that was about eight years before 277 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: Harriet's fascination with cars blossomed into her getting a license. 278 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: Life Magazine actually ran a profile of French, who had 279 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: married and taken the last name Bush, in nineteen fifty two, 280 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: and by that point she was seventy three. As Quimby's 281 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: journalism star had continued to rise in New York, her 282 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: circle of friends back in San Francisco did not have 283 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: the same good fortune. Even those who had been doing 284 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: well on the San Francisco theater scene found themselves without 285 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: a safety net after the earthquake and fire of nineteen 286 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: o six, which we have talked about on the podcast. 287 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: Before David work Griffith was among those friends. He and 288 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: his wife Linda had been close with Quimby on the 289 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: West Coast. After struggling to find stage work, Griffith found 290 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: himself under contract, first as an actor at Biograph Studios 291 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: and then as a director, after which he was able 292 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: to bring his wife on as an actor as well. Yeah, 293 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: he was initially a little scorely about that. He's like, 294 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: I don't I don't want to do film. That's not 295 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: real art um. Harriet helped both through this new avenue 296 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: for the Griffiths, though, by writing articles about their work 297 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 1: and explaining to the public how this still new industry 298 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: of film turned out its pictures, how the whole thing worked. 299 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,120 Speaker 1: She would take photos during set visits and publish those 300 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 1: photos along with her write ups, giving her readers a 301 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: behind the scenes peak and kind of helping to elevate 302 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,719 Speaker 1: public opinion of moving pictures, which had been seen up 303 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 1: to that point as kind of CD, particularly by theater goers. 304 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: Harriet also wrote several scripts for Biograph while DW was 305 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: directing there, and she also made a cameo appearance in 306 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: one of the shorts that she wrote, titled Fisher Folks. 307 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,360 Speaker 1: While working as a screenwriter might have been fun, Harriet 308 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: was really dedicated to her journalism career. She had no 309 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: intention of leaving it. But it was a desire to 310 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: seek out the new and exciting so that she could 311 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: write about it that led her to the thing that 312 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 1: she became most well known for historically. That was aviation. 313 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,160 Speaker 1: So in October Harriet attended a flying race with her 314 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 1: friend Matilda Moissant. This was just a year after Wilbur 315 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: Wright got paid a massive fifteen thousand dollars to perform 316 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: several flying demonstrations in New York as part of the 317 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: Hudson Fulton celebration. Again, that's a lot of money. Flying 318 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: at this point was of course new and enthralling, so 319 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: naturally Harriet gravitated to it, and in the years since 320 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: Wilbur Rights demos, aviation racing had emerged as a dangerous 321 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: but potentially lucrative endeavor. John Moissant, Matilda's brother, was one 322 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: of the competitors on the day that Harriet attended the 323 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 1: event to gather information for an article for Leslie's John 324 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 1: Moissant had studied flying with French aviation expert Louis Bleriot 325 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,720 Speaker 1: and then used his money to set up his own 326 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: aviation enterprise in the United States. He had been the 327 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,920 Speaker 1: first pilot to offer regular passenger flights from Paris to London, 328 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:58,439 Speaker 1: and once he had established his business, Moissant International Aviators 329 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 1: in Mississippi, he can tinued to offer passenger fares. He 330 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: and his brother Alfred had also opened a flying school 331 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: in Minnela, New York, hoping that spectators who saw the 332 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,440 Speaker 1: races in New York would be enticed to learn to 333 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,640 Speaker 1: fly themselves. That is exactly what happened to Harriet Quimby. 334 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: Now had she attempted to enroll in the school that 335 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,440 Speaker 1: the Right brothers had opened, she would have been turned away. 336 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: The rights thought that women only wanted to learn to 337 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: fly as a sort of stunt and would not take 338 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: it seriously, and so they did not take on women students, 339 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: not even their sister uh. They also doubted that any 340 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,479 Speaker 1: women would even make enough money to afford their school, 341 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: but Quimby, along with Matild Moissan, made her case to 342 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:42,920 Speaker 1: John and Alfred, as well as to their friend A. 343 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 1: Leo Stevens, who was a balloonist who also taught at 344 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: the aviation school. Matilda also wanted to fly, and the 345 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: men agreed, after a bit of cajoling, that if the 346 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:57,359 Speaker 1: women could wait until spring, they would teach them. So 347 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 1: Harriet busied herself with work, basically counting down the weeks 348 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: until warm weather. Yeah, that was like in October, so 349 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,680 Speaker 1: she was just like, okay, five months, six months, something 350 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: like that. But unfortunately John Moissant never became her teacher. 351 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,959 Speaker 1: He was killed a little over two months after they 352 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: had met in New York while he was flying in 353 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 1: the Michelin Cup Race outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. Moissan's 354 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: plane had caught a gust of air and he was 355 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: thrown from the plane and fell to his death. And 356 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: while that tragedy caused everyone involved in the Moissant Aviation 357 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: School to reconsider their future and their agreement to teach 358 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 1: Harriet and Matilda how to fly, the school and that 359 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,640 Speaker 1: plan moved forward, there was a minor bit of deception 360 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: in the mix, Harriet and Matilda had to disguise themselves 361 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,440 Speaker 1: as men anytime they were at the airfield. That disguise 362 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,159 Speaker 1: plan was in part because it was inherently controversial for 363 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: women to be enrolled. If you've heard us talk about 364 00:20:55,800 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: women's flying clubs and like flying as a really popular 365 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: her hobby for women in the US that was later 366 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: than this. They're sort of the forerunners in a lot 367 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: of ways. But Harriet was also protecting her professional reputation. 368 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: She was always careful any time she was in public 369 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: to behave in a way that would in no way 370 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: invite any criticism for her employer. She loved her job 371 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: and did not ever want to jeopardize it, and to her, 372 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 1: behaving that way was simply part of being a professional journalist. 373 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,119 Speaker 1: It is also one of the reasons that we like 374 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:34,719 Speaker 1: we mentioned at the top of the show that so 375 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: much of her personal life remains a little bit murky, right. 376 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: She was known, for example, to smoke, but only behind 377 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: closed doors. The only accounts of her doing so are 378 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: from her close associates, and it was something she would 379 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: never have been seen doing in public. Similarly, she did 380 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: not want her attendance at Aviation School to put Leslie's 381 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 1: in the hot seat before she was ready to write 382 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: about it. And there was also another layer in play 383 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,920 Speaker 1: here because Quimby had not told her editor at Leslie's 384 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: where she was up to. She wasn't telling anybody she 385 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: was taking flying lessons, so she had a really vested 386 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,560 Speaker 1: interest in keeping this whole thing under wraps. Before she 387 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: was allowed to try her hand at flying, Quimby, like 388 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: all the other students at the Moissant School, had to 389 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 1: learn about aerodynamics and airplane design, as well as basic 390 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: lessons and engine mechanics. Then there was cockpit time and 391 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: a simulator that was a plane that was outfitted with 392 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 1: all the necessary machinery but was fixed to the floor 393 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 1: of the hangar. Then it was basic flight in a 394 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 1: plane designed to fly only a few feet off the ground. 395 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: As she went through all these different lessons, Harriet Quimby 396 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: was taking notes for the articles she would later write 397 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:51,200 Speaker 1: describing this whole process. After five weeks of lessons and tests, 398 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 1: which included a final week of piloting with an altitude limited, 399 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: the students at the Moissant School moved on to actually 400 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,400 Speaker 1: flying a monoplane built in the French style of Blario. 401 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,479 Speaker 1: This aircraft was made of wood, piano wire, and rubber 402 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: coated silk, and though she got coated in cast royal 403 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: spray from the engine, Harriet loved the experience of flying. 404 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,959 Speaker 1: Despite her efforts to stay anonymous through this male presenting disguise, 405 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,920 Speaker 1: Harriet was found out by a reporter from the New 406 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: York Times. This reporter cornered her at the school one 407 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 1: morning and foolishly asked her if she liked flying. She replied, well, 408 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 1: I'm out here at four am each day. That ought 409 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: to be answer enough. Well, she was quimpy in that moment. 410 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: This outing forced her to confess to her bosses at 411 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: Leslie's that she had been secretly attending flight school with 412 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 1: the intention of writing about it, and then she had 413 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,920 Speaker 1: gotten scooped in the process, right, like I'm gonna write 414 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: this amazing thing, someone else was coming out with the 415 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: article first. Sorry, this might also discredit the paper. Um, 416 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: But those discussions where she confessed it was going on 417 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,639 Speaker 1: to her boss's actually went really quite well, probably because 418 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: they were a little accustomed to having this writer who 419 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: kind of did as she pleased and then wrote about it. 420 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: There was no big surprise in the Leslie's offices, and 421 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: this venture was kind of seen as a pretty big 422 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: potential paper seller. Consider that this was a woman in 423 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 1: flight school, which was controversial enough that other papers wanted 424 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,720 Speaker 1: to write about their reporter doing it. And while The 425 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: Times was planning to go to press with the story 426 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,919 Speaker 1: before Leslie's could, it would not have been able to 427 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: include any of Harriett's first hand accounts of the experience. 428 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: The Times ran their story in early May, and on 429 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,400 Speaker 1: Leslie's ran the article how a Woman learns to Fly. 430 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 1: It was the first in a series, and that series 431 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 1: was very popular. Leslie's Weekly was so happy with the 432 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: series that Quimby was actually reimbursed for her expensive flying lessons. 433 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: In a moment, we'll talk about how Quimby gained new 434 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,199 Speaker 1: levels of fame from the pile at Seat, But first 435 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,119 Speaker 1: we'll hear from some of the sponsors that keep stuff 436 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:14,639 Speaker 1: you missed in history class. Going throughout the publication of 437 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 1: those early articles in the series, Quimby was still in 438 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 1: flight school. She had not yet taken her pilots exam. 439 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 1: That didn't happen until August of nineteen eleven, and initially 440 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: the officials from the Aero Club of America, who facilitated 441 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: such exams, did not even want to bother testing Quimby. 442 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: They thought this whole thing was a stunt and that 443 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: it was going to be a waste of their time. 444 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,919 Speaker 1: The flight school had to schedule her test in the 445 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: same session as a male pilot candidate just to get 446 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 1: those officials to agree to travel to the airfield, and 447 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: the first day of her tests, she did pretty well 448 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,879 Speaker 1: on the first two segments, which involved various flight maneuvers 449 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,399 Speaker 1: like figure eights, but then she misjudged the third test, 450 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: which was landing, and she put the plane down too 451 00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: far from the target. She had the chance to reach 452 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 1: test to the next day, so she resolved to do it. 453 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 1: Matilda Moissant agreed to also test, but wanted to let 454 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: Harriet go first so that she could be the first 455 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: woman to be issued a pilot's license. The day initially 456 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,400 Speaker 1: looked like it was a bust because of heavy fog conditions, 457 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 1: but things cleared up by midday. Despite some gusty wind, 458 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: Harriet managed to complete the first two parts of the 459 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 1: test again, and then in the third section she executed 460 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: a precise landing. When she emerged from her plane, she 461 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: got in a dig to the ongoing inability of women 462 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: to vote in the US by quipping, believe me, flying 463 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: is much easier than voting. That might be my favorite 464 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 1: thing she ever said. Harriet was already a celebrity in 465 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 1: New York by this point, all the way back to 466 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,120 Speaker 1: her theater articles, she had been really popular, but becoming 467 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: a licensed pilot expanded her fame considerably, and she gained 468 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: a devoted following. When she made public appearances, huge crowds 469 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: gathered to see here, both because of the novelty and 470 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: because she was very charming. Her first paid gig as 471 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: a pilot was in Staten Island in October of nineteen eleven, 472 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: so just a couple of months after she got her license, 473 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: and more than twenty thousand people filled the field and 474 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 1: they actually had to clear the field for safety, and 475 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: even as she tried to land after her flight, there 476 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: were spectators running onto the field that caused her to 477 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: have to make a bouncy and slightly dangerous landing just 478 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 1: beyond the target area, although she did so successfully. She 479 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: got paid fifteen hundred dollars for that day, and it 480 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,199 Speaker 1: was the first of many bookings that she would get 481 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: in the months that followed, sometimes on her own and 482 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,879 Speaker 1: sometimes with Matilde Moissant, who had also successfully tested for 483 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: her license. Soon, Harriet Quimby and the other pilots who 484 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 1: flew exhibitions for the Moissant organization were on their way 485 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: to Mexico City for a festival booking. She was devoted 486 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: still to her journalism career, and Quimby met her deadlines 487 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,439 Speaker 1: and sent her articles from on board the ship that 488 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: was carrying her south. She was to be in Mexico 489 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,720 Speaker 1: for two months, and she promised to write travel accounts 490 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 1: for her editors at Leslie's, but the revolution in Mexico 491 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: quickly put an end to this booking. The whole team 492 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 1: had to flee the country soon. Matilda had given up 493 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,880 Speaker 1: flying after being burned in an accident when her gas 494 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: tank exploded, and that left Harriet is the only woman 495 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: pilot on the Moissant team. Harriet had rocketed to fame, 496 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: but she still had the feeling that there were people 497 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 1: that saw her not as a skilled pilot, but as 498 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,399 Speaker 1: a publicity stunt. She did not like that, and she 499 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: wanted to prove them wrong. So she plotted away to 500 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: prove her metal and for her that was going to 501 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: be flying across the English Channel. Now, this was something 502 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 1: that had been done before, but not by a woman, 503 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: and really not very often even by male pilots. A 504 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 1: Leo Stevens from the Moissant team joined her on her 505 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: journey across the Atlantic, and by this point he was 506 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: managing her bookings, and there were rumors that the two 507 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: of them were a cup although that remains unverified. They 508 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,640 Speaker 1: sailed to London on the S S America, and once 509 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: in London, Harriet secured a sponsorship of five thousand dollars 510 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 1: from the London Daily Mirror. In return, the paper got 511 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: exclusive European rights to the story of her attempt. This 512 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: was something of a race to be the first. The 513 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 1: plane that Harriet wanted to use was a Blurrio that 514 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: she would be acquiring in France, and it wasn't ready 515 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: yet when she got there. Louis Blurrio had become the 516 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 1: first pilots fly across the Channel in nineteen o nine, 517 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: and Quimby wanted to be the first woman to do so. 518 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: So she convinced Blurrio to loan her a plane for 519 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: the stunt and completed her purchase for the more powerful plane, 520 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 1: which she intended to fly back to the United States, 521 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: but while all of that was being worked out, pilot 522 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: Gustav Hamel flew a woman passenger, eleanor Treehawk Davies, across 523 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: the English Channel. She was not the pilot, but Mrs 524 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: Davies became the first woman to cross the Channel in 525 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: a plane. That was a huge blow to Quimby. Yeah, 526 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: she was super mad about the whole thing. Then when 527 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: it came time for Harriet to prep for her own flight, 528 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: there was Gustave Himel again. He insisted that Harriet let 529 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: him teach her how to use a compass. That was 530 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: something she had not done before, and he was kind 531 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: of like, look, if you get off track going over 532 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: the channel, things could get really bad. Please let me 533 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: teach you. But then he also offered to make the 534 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,400 Speaker 1: flight for her disguised as a woman. So it seems 535 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: like that compass thing might not have been so much 536 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: a kindness as a you, poor ding dong, let me 537 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: help you. It's a little condescending. She did take his compass, 538 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: but she turned him down on the other offer. Then, 539 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: when the perfect day of flying weather came, Harriet, to 540 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: everyone's surprise, opted to stay grounded. She said she wouldn't 541 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,120 Speaker 1: fly that day because it was a Sunday and she 542 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: had promised her mother that she would never ever fly 543 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: on Sundays, so there's some appointment. But everybody cleared and 544 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: then the weather was clear again on Tuesday April, and 545 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: Harriet took off at five thirty in the morning, remarking 546 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: later how once the trip was under way quote, it 547 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: seemed so easy, but soon the fog rolled in she 548 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: lost all visibility. She kept an eye on her watch, 549 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: and after twenty two minutes in the air, she decided 550 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: to start her descent. The Blario's engine flooded when she 551 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: tipped the nose down, and she considered landing on the 552 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 1: water when the gasoline finished burning off and the engine 553 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: stopped backfiring. As she descended out of the fog, she 554 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: saw the French coast and put the plane down at Harlow, 555 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:45,400 Speaker 1: which was not her intended destination of Calais. She was 556 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: about fifty three kilometers away from her intended landing spot, 557 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,680 Speaker 1: but she had crossed the English Channel. She did not 558 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: really speak French terribly well, so the locals kind of 559 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: communicated to her in their uh halting effort laden way 560 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 1: that you do with someone who doesn't speak your language, 561 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,160 Speaker 1: that she had to move her plane to avoid it 562 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,560 Speaker 1: being swept to see when the tide came in. Uh. 563 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:12,920 Speaker 1: There was also a local woman who served her breakfast, 564 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,320 Speaker 1: including tea in a cup that Harriet described as six 565 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 1: times larger than any she had ever seen. Uh. The 566 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: woman insisted she keep the cup as a a mento, 567 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,680 Speaker 1: which Harriet did and later said that she prized it 568 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: more than any trophy she could have imagined. And Harriet 569 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,040 Speaker 1: at this point was absolutely elated to have achieved her goal. 570 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,520 Speaker 1: But what she did not know, and which no one 571 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 1: else on the beach with her new, including the reporters 572 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: who arrived, was that the Titanic had gone down the 573 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:46,480 Speaker 1: night of April fourteenth. Harriet expected to be the headline 574 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: and papers around the globe, but the story of that 575 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: tragedy overtook her accomplishment in press rooms everywhere, unsurprisingly really, 576 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: even in The Mirror, which had paid so dearly for 577 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,880 Speaker 1: this exclusive. The Mirror put her story back in the 578 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 1: section of the paper that was reserved for advertisements aimed 579 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,240 Speaker 1: at women, which, again, like you could see where it 580 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: would be downgraded maybe a little bit insulting on the placement. 581 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,920 Speaker 1: But we should say there was press coverage of Quimby's accomplishment. 582 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:17,640 Speaker 1: If you go looking in papers in April of you'll 583 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:19,480 Speaker 1: see that people wrote it up. It just was not 584 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,480 Speaker 1: nearly the level of coverage that she or her editors 585 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: at Leslie's had anticipated. And those articles that came out 586 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 1: did talk about her achievement, but they were also just 587 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 1: as focused on Harriet the person, because she was seen 588 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 1: as being so unusual, even outside of being the first 589 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: woman to cross the English Channel. One element of her 590 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: work that was often mentioned in the news coverage of 591 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:47,479 Speaker 1: her flying was actually her clothing. It was a unique 592 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: outfit which she had designed herself, and she had collaborated 593 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: with a prominent New York taylor to have this jumpsuit 594 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: created that she felt was feminine yet functional for flight. 595 00:33:57,880 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: And it was made of satin with a woolbacking and 596 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:03,440 Speaker 1: included a hood, and there were gloves and custom boots, 597 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 1: and according to a write up in the New York Times, 598 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:09,800 Speaker 1: this outfit, which was purple quote is made in one piece, 599 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 1: including the hood, which by an ingenious device, can be 600 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 1: converted into a conventional walking skirt. Because of her high profile, 601 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,840 Speaker 1: and maybe also because of that purple flying outfit. Quimby 602 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,880 Speaker 1: was asked to be the new spokesperson for the armor 603 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:29,839 Speaker 1: company promoting their grape soda called vin Fizz. Was made 604 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,720 Speaker 1: of the first women to become a brand spokesperson. There's 605 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,839 Speaker 1: a somewhat grizzly aspect to all this, though. The prior 606 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:42,320 Speaker 1: spokesperson had been Carl Rogers, who made the first transcontinental 607 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 1: flight across the US in nineteen eleven. Rogers died during 608 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:51,520 Speaker 1: an exhibition flight in California, two weeks before Harriet Quimby 609 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: made her English Channel crossing. His death is why this 610 00:34:55,560 --> 00:35:02,319 Speaker 1: position was even open. Yeah, a little unsettling. In July nine, 611 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: Harriet was contracted to fly at the Boston Air Meet 612 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:09,960 Speaker 1: in Squantum, Massachusetts. She was the big draw of the 613 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:12,919 Speaker 1: event and was rumored to have entered into a very 614 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,040 Speaker 1: profitable contract for it. She was going to fly the 615 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 1: plane that she had purchased in France, and that was 616 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: a two seater, and in her practice runs she had 617 00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:25,279 Speaker 1: experienced an unexplained stall and had plummeted toward the ground 618 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,239 Speaker 1: before she could level the plane out to land. She 619 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: and her mechanic had examined everything and they chalked it 620 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 1: up to basically a bad wind gust. The events promoter, 621 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,960 Speaker 1: William Willard, was very taken with Quimby and may have 622 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,880 Speaker 1: had a bit of a crush on her. His interviews 623 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,839 Speaker 1: about the event all sound sort of wowed about how 624 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,799 Speaker 1: pretty she was, and when the day came and a 625 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 1: coin was tossed to see who her lucky passenger would be, 626 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:54,759 Speaker 1: Willard wanted. He excitedly joined Harriet and her barrio as 627 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,640 Speaker 1: she prepared for the twilight flight. So she and her 628 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,480 Speaker 1: team started the engine and they ran the plane through 629 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:04,520 Speaker 1: its checklist. That was something she did before every single flight, 630 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: and the first half of that flight went absolutely perfectly, 631 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 1: but as the spectators could see against the orange sunset sky, 632 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,280 Speaker 1: just after it had made its turn at the halfway 633 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,760 Speaker 1: point to come back, the plane's tail whipped upward into 634 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:23,680 Speaker 1: the air. It was basically pointed down. Willard had been 635 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:28,560 Speaker 1: ejected from his seat. Harriet, seemingly unaware of her lost passenger, 636 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,640 Speaker 1: initially struggled to try to write the plane. She did 637 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,680 Speaker 1: make some initial progress, but then she lost control entirely. 638 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 1: She was also thrown from the craft, and she and Willard, 639 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:41,880 Speaker 1: as well as the blarrio plummeted into Dorchester Bay. It 640 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: was low tide. The plane surprisingly managed to bob upright 641 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:49,560 Speaker 1: in the water and glide to a stop, but the 642 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 1: bodies of the pilot and passenger were retrieved and taken 643 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 1: to Quincy Hospital, although they were both already dead on 644 00:36:55,880 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 1: the scene. A particularly heartless ride up of this tragedy 645 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:05,200 Speaker 1: appeared in the Spokesman review of Spokene Washington under the 646 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:10,200 Speaker 1: headline little Miss Dresden, China broken at Last. The sub 647 00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:14,480 Speaker 1: had read quote how Harriet Quimby, most daring of air women, 648 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:19,360 Speaker 1: apparently nothing but frivolous femininity, full of odd superstitions, was 649 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 1: flipped out of her flying machine by the hand from 650 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:27,480 Speaker 1: the clouds which she had always feared. That nickname in 651 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 1: the headline, the Dresden, China Aviatress had come from the 652 00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:34,040 Speaker 1: fact that she was always really quite dainty and ladylike 653 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:37,799 Speaker 1: in her public persona. She also hated that nickname, and 654 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,920 Speaker 1: her superstitious nature was well known. She had always carried 655 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:43,319 Speaker 1: good luck charms, and she wore what she believed to 656 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,840 Speaker 1: be lucky jewelry. But of course it seems incredibly cruel 657 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,080 Speaker 1: to sum up her death in this sensationalist manner, which 658 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:53,080 Speaker 1: reads like the nineteen twelve equivalent of click bait, and 659 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:56,000 Speaker 1: it also robs her of her reputation within the aviation 660 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:59,840 Speaker 1: community for being fearless, yes, but also being very skilled 661 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,400 Speaker 1: and really very careful. The article includes a lot of 662 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 1: speculation about how she must have panicked and done something 663 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 1: wrong to cause the crash. The actual cause was never 664 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:15,760 Speaker 1: conclusively determined, but there were several possibilities that were evident 665 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:21,800 Speaker 1: right away. Examination of the just freakishly undamaged Blarrio showed 666 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,000 Speaker 1: that the left rudder wire was caught on the lever 667 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,719 Speaker 1: that operated the wings, but there was some debate over 668 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:32,120 Speaker 1: whether that had been the cause, or whether it was 669 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,800 Speaker 1: something that had happened on the way down or possibly 670 00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:38,720 Speaker 1: on impact. One theory was that Quimby had briefly lost 671 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 1: consciousness and by the time she came to the plane 672 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:45,720 Speaker 1: was too out of control to regain it. Another theory 673 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:48,600 Speaker 1: was that William Willard, who was a large man and 674 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 1: had been leaning far forward to speak to her in flight, 675 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:57,600 Speaker 1: might have unwittingly caused the blarrio to become unbalanced. An 676 00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:01,880 Speaker 1: article appeared in Aircraft magazine Scene suggesting that the design 677 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,160 Speaker 1: of the Blarrio was fundamentally unstable, and that the tail 678 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:10,719 Speaker 1: wing was the cause. Obviously, safety belts were not in use. 679 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:15,000 Speaker 1: They were not standard safety equipment. Yet there were witnesses 680 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:18,600 Speaker 1: who claimed that they did see Quimby quote buckle abroad 681 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,759 Speaker 1: strap across the space in front of her. If she 682 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:24,680 Speaker 1: did that, she had unbuckled it at some point afterward. 683 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,160 Speaker 1: For several months after Harriet Quimby's death, articles that she 684 00:39:29,239 --> 00:39:32,640 Speaker 1: had filed before that final flight continued to be published, 685 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,800 Speaker 1: and one in particular reads a sort of bitter suite. 686 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: It was about the potential for careers in flight for women. 687 00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:43,080 Speaker 1: She wrote, quote, there is no sport that affords the 688 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 1: same amount of excitement and joy or exacts in return 689 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: so little muscular strength as flying. It is easier than 690 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,279 Speaker 1: walking or driving, simpler than golf or tennis. There is 691 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:57,440 Speaker 1: no reason why the airplane should not open a fruitful 692 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:02,720 Speaker 1: occupation for women. She was so young when she died. Yeah, 693 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:08,160 Speaker 1: I've listened to that Flights of four. Uh, I think 694 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,279 Speaker 1: it's for female. He said it at the beginning of 695 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 1: the episode, And now I've forgotten what the exact title 696 00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:14,200 Speaker 1: of that older episode was. I listened to it one 697 00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:17,320 Speaker 1: time way in the past when I was trying to 698 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,080 Speaker 1: figure out like which which people were discussed in it, 699 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:22,560 Speaker 1: and I have forgotten a lot of the details in 700 00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:26,120 Speaker 1: the intervening years, UM, And so I did not realize 701 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:29,840 Speaker 1: when I started out reading through this episode for the 702 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:32,800 Speaker 1: first time that that she did die at such a 703 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:35,560 Speaker 1: very young age and so early in her career as 704 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:37,680 Speaker 1: a pilot when that became the thing that she was 705 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,880 Speaker 1: really known for. Yeah, I mean she was a pilot 706 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:43,480 Speaker 1: for a licensed pilot for less than a year of 707 00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:45,680 Speaker 1: her life, whereas she had been a journalist for quite 708 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:49,400 Speaker 1: some time at that point, UM and had really, like 709 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:51,080 Speaker 1: I said at the top of the episode, I'm always 710 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:55,440 Speaker 1: a little like when people are like aviator Harry, mean, 711 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:58,120 Speaker 1: it's like she was, but like, I don't think she 712 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,399 Speaker 1: would have necessarily identified that a I think she would 713 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:05,200 Speaker 1: say she was a journalist first. And there are quotes 714 00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:07,400 Speaker 1: from her where people asked her, are you giving up 715 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:10,200 Speaker 1: your journalism career to fly full time? And she was like, no, 716 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:14,400 Speaker 1: way up. She was always still planning to keep writing. 717 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:19,200 Speaker 1: She actually had been talking about um leaving journalism and 718 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:22,959 Speaker 1: possibly leaving piloting for a while after that flight where 719 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:24,960 Speaker 1: she died so that she could write a novel because 720 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:26,640 Speaker 1: it was something she had always wanted to try and 721 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:30,239 Speaker 1: it had never done. Um And of course that did 722 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,919 Speaker 1: not happen, which is terribly sad. But also she's quite 723 00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:37,759 Speaker 1: a creature. She's a can be a little bit conflicting, 724 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,959 Speaker 1: and that in some ways she is the perfect role 725 00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:44,520 Speaker 1: of like feminism, and you know, a woman really being 726 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:48,120 Speaker 1: in charge of her life and not defining herself by 727 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:49,880 Speaker 1: the men in her life. But then she would do 728 00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:52,200 Speaker 1: things like here are place you can safely take your 729 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:58,360 Speaker 1: wife to. Right, It's like, oh, Harriet, no, but also 730 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:00,680 Speaker 1: very savvy because people loved that part of the thing, 731 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:05,080 Speaker 1: that part of her her articles. Uh, since this is 732 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,640 Speaker 1: a little bit of a downer place, I thought we 733 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:10,319 Speaker 1: would do a fun listener mail. I think that's a 734 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:13,359 Speaker 1: good idea about a topic I keep talking about, which 735 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:15,959 Speaker 1: is that darn Rugarou, but I love him so much. 736 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:21,200 Speaker 1: This comes from our listener Amanda, who writes Holly and Tracy. Hello. 737 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:23,960 Speaker 1: My name is Amanda. I'm a huge history nerd and 738 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,839 Speaker 1: have been an avid listener from almost the beginning. I'd 739 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:28,759 Speaker 1: like to thank you ladies for keeping me company for 740 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:31,760 Speaker 1: years now during my hour long commute to and from work. 741 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,240 Speaker 1: You guys get me cracking up first thing in the morning, 742 00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:36,120 Speaker 1: which is no small feet, and it starts my day 743 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,399 Speaker 1: out on a good note. This is my first time 744 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:40,759 Speaker 1: writing because I just had to let Holly know what 745 00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:43,480 Speaker 1: I found in my home state of Alabama. I found 746 00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:46,759 Speaker 1: her the perfect road trip worthy restaurant. Get this. It 747 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:50,080 Speaker 1: has a rugaru theme, It's in Birmingham, and of course 748 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:52,680 Speaker 1: it serves Cajun cuisine. I haven't been yet, but I'm 749 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,960 Speaker 1: planning to very soon. I included picks I found online 750 00:42:55,960 --> 00:42:58,520 Speaker 1: of the restaurant and of the stuffed rugarou. I will 751 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:00,439 Speaker 1: let you both know if it's any good. Thanks again 752 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:01,920 Speaker 1: for all the hard work you do. I know all 753 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,520 Speaker 1: your listeners, including myself, adore you both. She also included 754 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:10,440 Speaker 1: pictures of her dog, Pepper, who is cute. Um. So 755 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,120 Speaker 1: here's a weird thing that came up and why I 756 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:16,279 Speaker 1: wanted to read this one. It feels like I am 757 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:20,760 Speaker 1: destined to go visit this restaurant. And here's why. Someone 758 00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:25,160 Speaker 1: sent me a photo completely unrelated to any work stuff, 759 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:30,600 Speaker 1: and it had rugaru with this spelling which has an 760 00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:34,040 Speaker 1: X on the end like a ru um. And I 761 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:36,120 Speaker 1: was like, what is that? What is that place in 762 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:38,120 Speaker 1: the background. It was like in the background of a picture, 763 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:40,280 Speaker 1: and I was like what it? So I started looking 764 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:43,120 Speaker 1: for it online and I found this restaurant and then 765 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,440 Speaker 1: this email came like two hours later, and I was like, 766 00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:51,360 Speaker 1: that's weird. Um. So it feels like I need to 767 00:43:51,360 --> 00:43:53,400 Speaker 1: get in the car and go to Ruguru at some 768 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:58,319 Speaker 1: point in Alabama, maybe en route Tahoma, where I can 769 00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:00,799 Speaker 1: go visit the actual Rugaru and teach them how to 770 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:05,080 Speaker 1: count higher than twelve. Uh. It just seems like if 771 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:07,520 Speaker 1: I didn't read it, something bad might happen. The Rugary 772 00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:10,280 Speaker 1: is sending the signals it wants to be your friend. 773 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 1: Holly great. As long as it's nice to my cats. 774 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:15,440 Speaker 1: He can live here. Like I said, I'll make him 775 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:18,479 Speaker 1: some flash guards will work on the map. Um. If 776 00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:21,200 Speaker 1: you do get to go, Amanda, please tell us what 777 00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:24,080 Speaker 1: the food is like, sample everything, tell us all the 778 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:28,279 Speaker 1: details thinking about Cajun food. Now, if you would like 779 00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:31,920 Speaker 1: to write to us about your experiences at rugarothieved restaurants, 780 00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:34,839 Speaker 1: or otherwise, you can do that at History Podcast at 781 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:37,120 Speaker 1: I Heart radio dot com. You can find us all 782 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:40,160 Speaker 1: over social media. As missed in History and you can 783 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,479 Speaker 1: subscribe to the podcast on the I heart Radio app 784 00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:49,759 Speaker 1: or wherever it is you listen. Stuff you Missed in 785 00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:52,600 Speaker 1: History Class is a production of I heart Radio. For 786 00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:55,359 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 787 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:58,520 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 788 00:44:58,560 --> 00:44:59,240 Speaker 1: favorite shows.