Ruth Elder, American Aviatrix and Actress

Ruth Elder, American Aviatrix and Actress

Ruth Elder (September 8, 1902 - October 9, 1977) was an aviation pioneer and actress, known as the Miss America of Aviation. She was a charter member of the Ninety-Nines. In 1927 she took off from New York in the airplane American Girl, George Haldeman as her pilot, in an attempt to become the first woman transatlantic airplane rider. Mechanical problems caused them to ditch the plane 360 miles from land, but they established a new over-water endurance flight record of 2,623 miles. It was also at the time the longest flight ever made by a woman. She and George were honored with a ticker-tape parade upon their return. After her flight, she embarked on a series of lucrative speaking engagements and was given a movie contract. She starred in Moran of the Marines (1928) and The Winged Horseman (1929). In 1929 she entered the first Women's Air Derby, flying in her Swallow, NC8730, and placed fifth. She worked as an executive secretary in the aviation industry in her later career, hired by Howard Hughes. She married six times. She had suffered emphysema for several years before she died in 1977, at the age of 75. No photographer credited, 1920s.

RUTH ELDER

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3006 x 4650 px | 40.0 MB

25.5 x 39.4 cm | 10.0 x 15.5 in (300 dpi)