Edith Maud Cook

Pilot

Birthday September 1, 1878

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace England

DEATH DATE Jul 14, 1910 (31)

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About

Hot air balloon operator and parachutist who became the first Englishwoman to fly a plane. During her ten-year aviation career, she made several hundred parachute jumps.

Before Fame

She nearly perished during a 1908 parachute leap. She perished two years later in a similar accident near Coventry, England.

Trivia

During her aviation career, she was known by numerous pseudonyms, including Viola Spencer-Kavanagh and Viola Fleet.

Family Life

She grew up in Ipswich, Suffolk, England as the daughter of Mary Ann Baker and James Wells Cook.

Associated With

She was a flying pupil of French aviator Louis Bleriot.