Born in Muscogee, Florida in 1906 as Bessie Lee Pitman, Jacqueline Cochran grew up in poverty and had little formal education. She moved to Georgia at the age of eight, to work in a cotton mill. Cochran married her husband at the age of fourteen, whom she divorced in 1927. A trained beautician, she pursued that career for several years and took her first flying lessons in 1932. She achieved her pilot's license in three weeks and mastered the technical aspects of aviation and navigation. Meanwhile, in 1935 she organized a successful cosmetics firm, which she sold in 1936.
In 1953, eager to make the transition to jet aircraft, Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, piloting an F86. American pilot from DeFuniak Springs who held more speed, distance, and altitude records than any other flyer during her career. In 1964 she flew an aircraft faster than any woman had before.
References include: National Archives | Military Awards Archive | Award Descriptions | Hall of Valor Award Database | Eisenhower Library WASPs Cochran | Virtual Wall Lane | Distinguished Flying Cross Bonham | Silver Star Hester | National Aviation Hall of Fame Cochran | Navy Cross Higbee
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