JACQUELINE COCHRAN
Career Highlights

Short Bio| Career Highlights || Speech | Gazette 1 Gazette 2 | Poster 1 | Poster 2

bullet 1932--Earns her pilot's license.
bullet 1934 - Enters the MacRobertson London-to-Australia race.
bullet 1935--Jacqueline Cochran Cosmetics begins manufacturing and Jackie enters her first Bendix race.
bullet May I1, 1936--Married to Floyd Bostwick Odlum in Kingman, Arizona.
bullet 1937--Wins first place in women's division of Bendix and third place overall; becomes first woman to make blind landing, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; is awarded her first of 15 Clifford Burke Harmon International Trophies of the International League of Aviators as the outstanding woman flyer in the world.
bullet 1938--Takes first place in Bendix transcontinental; receives the General William E. Mitchell Memorial Award as the person making the greatest contribution to aviation that year.
bullet March 24, 1939---Establishes a women's national altitude record, and in September 1939 breaks the international open-class speed record for men and women. She wins the William J. McGough Memorial Award from Air Service Post 501; the American Legion honors her with its award; New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia presents trophy for winning the New York-to-Miami Air Race in '39.
bullet April 1940--Breaks the 2,000 kilometer international speed record and the 100 kilometer national record; wins the Minneapolis Aqua-tennial Air Classic Award as the outstanding woman pilot and receives her third of four trophies from the Women's National Aeronautical Association as the outstanding woman pilot for '38, '39, '40 and by the next year, '41.
bullet June 1941 First woman to pilot a bomber across the North Atlantic; organizes a group of twenty-five American women to fly for Great Britain in the war effort.
bullet 1941 to 1943--President of 99s, an organization of women aviators founded in 1929.
bullet September 11, 1942--Appointed director of women's flying training for the United States.
bullet July 1943--Appointed to the general staff of the U.S. Army Air Forces; directed all phases of Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program.
bullet 1945---Receives the United States Distinguished Service Medal; travels to the Far East as correspondent for Liberty magazine; first American woman to enter Japan after World War Il.
bullet After the war, Jackie continued to participate in air races and to establish new transcontinental and international records. She still holds more international speed, distance, and altitude records than any other pilot.
bullet 1949--Decorated in France with the Legion of Honor.
bullet 1951--Receives the French Air Medal as well as the Lady Drummond-Hay Trophy; other foreign decorations include Wings of Air medals from Belgium, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, pre-communist Rumania. She is voted one of the 25 outstanding businesswomen in America by the Boston Chamber of Commerce.
bullet 1953--Flying a Canadian-built Sabrejet F-86, she is the first woman to exceed the sound barrier; receives the Gold Medal from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the only woman ever to have earned this award. Her book The Stars at Noon is published and merits the annual book award from the Secondary Education Board of Boston. She is called "Woman of the Year in Business" by the Associated Press poll of newspaper editors for the first time. She wins that title again in '54.
bullet 1954--Is offered the Frank M. Hawks Memorial Award of Air Service Post 501, American Legion.
bullet 1955---National Association of Manufacturers gives her their Golden Fleece Award. She receives honorary degrees from Russell Sage College. Elmira College, and later from Northland College.
bullet 1957--Receives the Air Force Association Award for distinguished civilian service, the only woman to have been so honored. The United States Air Force has already cited her in '49 and '51 for recruiting service, and she continues in '57 to hold rank of command pilot in Civil Air Patrol. Also in 1957, she travels to Nicaragua as personal ambassador to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
bullet 1958-59--President of the Federation Aeronautique lnternationale, the only woman ever to hold that office and to be reelected for the 1960-61 term.
bullet 1962---Chairman of the National Aeronautic Association.
bullet 1962--Establishes 69 intercity and straight-line distance records for Lockheed in a Jet Star; first woman to fly a jet airplane across the Atlantic. Also in '62, Jackie sets 9 international speed, distance, and altitude records in a Northrop T-38 military jet aircraft.
bullet April 12, 1965-4ets 15-25 kilometer course record in Lockheed
bullet F-104 Starflghter--1.273.109 mph.
bullet May 1, 1963--Breaks 100 kilometer course record with a speed of 1,203.686 mph.
bullet May 11, 1964--Begins resetting her own records in Lockheed's F-10,K3 Starfighter: for 15-25 kilometer course, a record of 1,429.297 mph; for 100 kilometer course, 1,302 mph; for 500 kilometer course. 1,135 mph.
bullet September 16, 1965---Presented with Pionierkette Winderose decoration by German government.
bullet May 1969--Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters by Chief of Staff U.S. Air Force.
bullet May 31, 1970--Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Notre Dame
bullet College, Manchester, New Hampshire.
bullet June 16, 1970--Presented with Legion of Merit by Secretary of the Air Force.
bullet September 18, 1971--Named Honorary Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
bullet December 17, 19TI--Enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio: the first living woman to have been so honored.
bullet Other titles, significant dates, and honors
bullet Director--Air Force Academy Foundation.
bullet Trustee--Air Force Museum Foundation.
bullet Vice-President--Air Force Historical Foundation.
bullet Director--Storer Broadcasting Company.
bullet Member--Board of Councilors, University of Southern California. Institute of Safety and Systems Management.
bullet Board of Trustees--Donald Douglas Museum and Library. Member--Honorary Board of Directors of the American Hall of Aviation History of Northrop Institute of Technology.
bullet Permanent Trustee--Internationai Women's Air and Space Museum. September I0, 1975---First woman to be honored at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by having her memorabilia dedicated as a permanent display in Arnold Hall. 1975--Private papers donated to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, 'Abilene, Kansas.
bullet August 9, 1980--Jackie dies at her home in lndio, California.
 
bullet November 6, 1980--Memorial service for her is held at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

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