Blanche Stuart Scott (1889-1970)

February 17 through 25, 1912 in Oakland, California

Trenton Evening Times, Trenton, New Jersey on May 28, 1910

Blanche Stuart Scott (April 8, 1885 - January 12, 1970) aka Betty Scott was the first female aviator. Image File history File links Blanche Stuart Scott from Smithsonian Institution negative #72-4803A. Image used with permission. ... Image File history File links Blanche Stuart Scott from Smithsonian Institution negative #72-4803A. Image used with permission. ... Image File history File links Poster for Blanche Scott File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Poster for Blanche Scott File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (696x3302, 1564 KB)Blanche Stuart Scott in the Trenton Evening Times on May 28, 1910. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (696x3302, 1564 KB)Blanche Stuart Scott in the Trenton Evening Times on May 28, 1910. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Birth

Blanche Stuart Scott was born on April 08, 1885, in Rochester, New York to Belle and John Scott (1838-?). Her father sold patent medicine. At age 13 she became an early enthusiast of the automobile. In the year 1900 the family was living in Rochester at 116 Weld Avenue 1. Rochester, also known as both The Flower City, and The Flour City, is a city in Monroe County, New York, United States. ...

Automobile

In 1910, after attending a finishing school, she became the first woman to drive an automobile across the US, travelling from New York to San Francisco in California. The trip was sponsored by the Willys-Overland Company and the car was named the "Lady Overland". They left New York on May 16, 1910 and reached San Francisco on July 23, 1910. The New York Times' wrote on May 17, 1910: Willys (pronounced will-eeze) was the brand name used by the United States automobile company Willys-Overland Motors, best known for its production of military and civilian Jeeps. ...

Miss Scott, with Miss Phillips as only companion, starts on long trip with the object of demonstrating the possibility of a woman driving a motor car across the country and making all the necessary repairs en route. Miss Blanche Stuart Scott yesterday started in an Overland automobile on a transcontinental Journey which will end in San Francisco.

Aviation

Her automobile publicity brought her to the attention of Jerome Fanciulli and Glenn Curtiss, and agreed to provide her with lessons. She was the first and only woman to receive instruction directly from Curtiss. To prevent her aircraft from gaining enough speed to become airborne while taxiing on her own, Curtiss inserted a block of wood behind the throttle pedal to prevent her from going to fast. It didn't stop her, she ended up flying to an altitude of forty feet on her first flight on September 5, 1910. She continued her lessons and made her debut as a member of the Curtiss team at a Chicago air meet on October 1st through the 9th in 1910. She retired from flying in 1916. Glenn H. Curtiss on the cover of Time magazine on October 13, 1924 Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. ...

Death

She died on Monday, January 12, 1970 at Genesee Hospital, Rochester, Monroe County, New York at age 84. She is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Rochester.

Timeline

• 1885 Birth in Rochester, New York
• 1910 New York to San Francisco auto trip
• 1910 Learn to fly but not get license
• 1916 Retire from flying
• 1970 Death in Rochester
• 1980 Stamp issued

Selected coverage in the New York Times

• New York Times, May 15, 1910, page S4, "Woman to drive auto to Frisco: Miss Scott Will Make Trip and Act as Own Mechanician During Long Journey. Miss Blanche Stuart Scott, a young society woman of Rochester, N.Y., will leave City Hall, New York City, in an Overland automobile at noon to-morrow, bearing a message from Mayor Gaynor to Mayor McCarthy of San Francisco. Miss Scott announces that there will be nothing spectacular, strenuous, or notorious in the performance, which she treats with a most beautiful modesty."
• New York Times, May 17, 1910, page 11, "Woman to drive auto to Frisco: Miss Scott, with Miss Phillips as Only Companion, Starts on Long Trip. With the object of demonstrating the possibility of a woman driving a motor car across the country and making all the necessary repairs en route. Miss Blanche Stuart Scott yesterday started in an Overland automobile on a transcontinental Journey which will end in San Francisco."
• New York Times, February 27, 1960, page 21, "Woman Who Began Flying in 1910 Recalls the Day"
• New York Times, January 13, 1970, page 45, "Blanche Stuart Scott, 84, Dies; Made First Solo Flight in 1910; Feat Followed Cross-Country Drive Later Toured as Daredevil Flier"

Selected coverage in other periodicals

• Trenton Evening Times, Trenton, NJ, May 28, 1910

External links

• Hargrave: Blanche Scott
• Hill: Blanche Scott
• Early Aviators: Blanche Scott

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Blanche Stuart Scott