The Canada Atlas

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Elsie MacGill

Aeronautical engineer · 1905-1980

Elsie MacGill
Elsie Gregory MacGill / Library and Archives Canada · Public domain

The first woman in the world to design an aircraft, and a commissioner on the status of women.

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Life story

  1. March 27, 1905 · Vancouver
    Born in Vancouver, daughter of the first woman judge in British Columbia
  2. 1929 · Michigan
    Became the first woman anywhere to earn a degree in aeronautical engineering
  3. 1938 · Fort William, Ontario
    Designed the Maple Leaf Trainer II, the first aircraft designed by a woman
  4. 1940 · Fort William, Ontario
    Ran Hurricane fighter production at Canadian Car and Foundry, some 1,450 aircraft
  5. 1967 · Ottawa
    Appointed to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women
  6. November 4, 1980 · Massachusetts
    Died in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Sources