历史上第一位飞越英吉利海峡的女飞行员

Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to become a licensed pilot, was born on this day in 1875 on a Michigan farm.

1875年的今天，第一位持证的美国女飞行员——哈丽雅特·昆比(Harriet Quimby)在密歇根州的一个农场出生。

She was also the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel, in 1912. (The French aviator Louis Blériot was the first man to accomplish that feat, three years earlier.)

1912年，她成为第一位飞越英吉利海峡的女性。(三年前，法国飞行员路易斯·布莱里奥[Louis Blériot]是第一个完成这一壮举的男性。)

Quimby received her pilot’s license — the second woman anywhere to do so — when she was 36, in August 1911. The next month she flew by moonlight at the Staten Island Fair, circling the fairgrounds four times. “It was a great temptation not to keep right on flying until I got to New York,” she told reporters afterward.

1911年8月，36岁的昆比获得了飞行员执照——她是全世界的第二位女性。第二个月，她乘着月光在斯塔滕岛集市(Staten Island Fair)上围绕集市飞了四圈。“在我到达纽约之后，飞行才成为一个很大的诱惑，”她事后告诉记者。

Before becoming a pilot, Quimby was a writer, critic and photographer for Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. She became interested in aviation after working on the magazine’s issue devoted to the topic; she later attended the international air meet at New York’s Belmont Park and started classes.

在成为飞行员之前，昆比是《莱斯利画报周刊》(Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly)的作者、评论员和摄影师。她在参与了杂志的飞行主题专刊后，对这项活动产生了兴趣;后来，她参加了在纽约贝尔蒙特公园(Belmont Park)举行的国际航空会议(international air meet)，并开始上飞行课。

Less than a year after earning her license, Quimby was killed during an air show in Massachusetts.

在获得执照不到一年后，昆比在马萨诸塞州的一次空中表演中丧生。

Before the fatal flight, Quimby had discussed the possibility of a water landing, saying with a smile: “But I am a cat and I do not like cold water.”

在那次致命的飞行之前，她讨论了水上降落的可能性，微笑着说：“但我是一只猫，我不喜欢冷水。”