thumb|Moisant (left) and [[Harriet Quimby, the first two women in the United States to obtain pilot's licenses (photo circa 1911–12)]]
Matilde Josephine Moisant (September 13, 1878 – February 5, 1964) was an American pioneer aviator who became the second woman in the United States to obtain a pilot's license.
Early life
Moisant was born on September 13, 1878, in Earl Park, Indiana, to Médore Moisant and Joséphine Fortier. Both parents were French Canadians. Her siblings include George, John, Annie M., Alfred Moisant, Louise J. and Eunice Moisant. John and Alfred were also aviators. In 1880, the family was living in Manteno, Illinois, and her father was working as a farmer.
Career
Moisant learned to fly at Alfred's Moisant Aviation School on Long Island, New York. a few weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby received her pilot's certificate, Matilde Moisant became the second woman pilot certified by the Aero Club of America. She pursued a career in exhibition flying, known as barn storming. She spent several years dividing her time between the U.S. and the family plantation in El Salvador, before returning to the Los Angeles area.
Death
Matilde Moisant died in 1964 in Glendale, California, aged 85, and was interred in the Portal of Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
Timeline
- 1878 Birth in Indiana
- 1880 Living in Manteno, Kankakee, Illinois