Auriol, Jacqueline (1917–2000)
Auriol, Jacqueline (1917–2000)
French aviator. Born Jacqueline Marie Thérèse Suzanne Douet on Nov 5, 1917, at Challans, France; died in 2000; dau. of Pierre Douet (shipbuilder and importer of Scandinavian wood); attended school in Nantes; studied art at L'école du Louvre, Paris; m. Paul Auriol (son of Vincent Auriol, French diplomat and 1st president of Fourth Republic [1947–1954]), 1938; children: two sons, Jean-Claude and Jean-Paul.
Famed pilot, attended flying school at Villacoublay and received license (1948), then soloed an additional 10 hours to receive a 2nd-degree license; demonstrated skills in an air show outside Paris (1949), the only woman among 20 famous French flyers; was severely injured when a seaplane in which she was a passenger crashed into the Seine (1949); underwent over 20 operations to rebuild her face; qualified for a helicopter pilot's license (1951); won the title of "fastest woman in the world" (1951), then broke her own speed record (Dec 21, 1952); went on to become one of France's top test pilots, the only woman in her country engaged in that profession, and made headlines again as the Concorde's 1st pilot (1971). Awarded the Cross of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor; won the Harmon International Trophy (1951 and 1952).
See also autobiography I Live To Fly (trans. by Pamela Swinglehurst, M. Joseph, 1970); and Women in World History.