Ella Fitzgerald was born just as jazz was beginning to develop into a distinct art form. She mastered scat singing, a vocal improvisation using words, syllables and parts of other songs. She won 13 Grammy Awards, sold over 40 million albums, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1967.
Frances Perkins was the secretary of labor under President Franklin Roosevelt, the first female cabinet secretary, the longest serving secretary of labor and one of the architects of Roosevelt’s New Deal economic policies.
Mary Riddle, also known as Kus-da-cha or Kingfisher, took up flying in 1929. She made her first solo flight on May 10, 1930 then went on to parachute out of planes and executed over 40 parachuting jumps. Some were of the misconception that women didn’t posses the physical or intellectual capability to pilot airplanes. There were few places where women could obtain flight training.
Ruth Elder was determined to become the female Charles Lindbergh, and the first woman to cross the Atlantic. She toured the country on the vaudeville circuit and starred in two aviation-themed feature films, Moran of the Marines (1928) and The Winged Horseman (1929), both of which are now lost.
Pancho Barnes was born Florence Leontine Lowe on July 22, 1901. She went on to become Hollywood’s first female stunt pilot. In 1930, Florence Barnes broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record of 181.8 mph. She earned the title of World’s Fastest Woman. Pancho founded the Women’s Air Reserve to ensure female pilots had a place in military aviation. She was a pioneer and a trail blazer for women in aviation.