That Magnificent Woman In Her Flying Machine- Raymonde de Laroche

October 22, 1909 “Baroness” Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to pilot a heavier than air machine. The daughter of a plumber, de Laroche was permanently tagged with the title of baroness by an article in a French tabloid. She was accomplished balloonist when aviator Charles Voison convinced her to pilot his new invention, a fixed wing airplane. De Laroche’s statue stands at Le Bourget airport outside Paris.