Aviation is a passion. Many people are deeply interested in aviation, even if they don’t pursue it as a profession. Some follow it as a hobby, while others see it as a way to support or complement their main career. It is one of the rare fields where interest often turns into a lifelong passion.
Aviation, which evokes emotions such as freedom, defiance of limits, exploration, and courage, attracts countless individuals, even those outside the industry. One of the best historical examples of this is Thérèse Peltier, a French sculptor. Though she was not an aviation professional, she was introduced to aviation by her close friend and fellow sculptor, Parisian Léon Delagrange. Her interest would eventually earn her a place in aviation history.
On July 8, 1908, in Milan, Italy, she took a short flight of approximately 200 meters as a passenger, becoming the first woman in the world to fly in an airplane. Peltier accompanied Delagrange in a Voisin biplane, flying roughly 656 feet (200 meters) through the air.
Being a woman in aviation doesn’t necessarily mean being a pilot, flight attendant, aerospace engineer, or ground operations agent. It also means working for the advancement of aviation, contributing to the growth of the industry. Thérèse Peltier is a testament to that; she is one of the pioneering women in aviation and a name that comes to mind when discussing women’s contributions to the skies.
Although some unverified sources claim she received flight training from Delagrange, learned how to fly, and even piloted a solo flight in Turin, Italy—reportedly flying 200 meters at an altitude of 2.5 meters—there is no evidence that she ever obtained a pilot’s license.
In 1908, Peltier joined Delagrange on a record-breaking endurance flight, which lasted 30 minutes and 28 seconds. She also accompanied him as a passenger during a series of successful Italian flight demonstrations in cities such as Turin and Rome. Reporting details of these flights to French newspapers, she showed that one could meaningfully engage in and contribute to aviation without being a licensed pilot.
Ferdinand Léon Delagrange was one of the early pioneers of aviation. In addition to being the first licensed pilot to carry a female passenger, he also set a world duration record of 15 km in May
1908 in Italy. A sculptor like Peltier, he turned his passion for aviation into a way of life. Tragically, in 1910, he died when his Blériot XI, equipped with a more powerful engine, broke apart mid-air near Bordeaux, plunging from about 20,000 feet.
Following his death, Thérèse Peltier never flew again and withdrew from aviation entirely. Yet her brief but impactful involvement in aviation was enough to earn her a permanent place in the history books.