Janet Harmon Waterford Bragg
Personal Information
Born: 1907
Died: 1993
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: Black
Education
Spelman College MacBicar Hospital School of Nursing, RN 1929; Curtis Wright School of Aeronautics (later Aeronautics University); Civilian Pilot Training Program Tuskegee Institute
Professional Life
Field of Study: Aviation
Institution/Corporation: None found
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Urban League; Habitat for Humanity; Tuskegee Airman, Inc CMSgt Fred Archer Chapter;
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2022 Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame; 1984 honored by the University of Arizona Black Alumni Association; Certificate of Appreciation, FAA; 1985 Bishop Wright Air Industry Award, US Dept of Transportation; 1982 Outstanding Citizen of Tucson; 2000 Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame
Achievements: 1942 first African-American woman to hold a commercial pilot license; co-founder Challenger Air Pilots Association (later Coffey School of Aeronautics);1st African-American female student at Curtis Wright School of Aeronautics; involved in the inception of the National Association of American Airmen; co-founder of the 1st African-American owned airport in Robbins, IL; her autobiography "Soaring Above Setbacks" was published posthumously in 1996
born Jane Nettie Harmon
was the only female in her class at Curtis Wright School of Aeronautics in 1933
was shunned by her felow students at Curtiss until she donated $600 of her own money to purchase an airplane for the school so they could all use it
was turned down for admission to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) & military nurses corps during WWII because she was Black
although she passed all the testing for a commercial pilot's license after completing school at the Tuskegee Institute, she was denied the license because she was Black
returned to Chicago, retook all tests & was granted the license
with her 2nd husband, opened & ran 2 nursing homes in Chicago before retiring to Tucson, AZ in 1972
was of African & Cherokee descent
retired from flying in 1965 with 2000 hours of flight time