Marie Marvingt (February 20, 1875 – December 14, 1963) was a world-class athlete who won numerous awards in swimming, fencing, shooting, ski jumping, ice skating, and bobsledding. She dominated the 1908 to 1910 seasons at Chamonix, France, where she won more than 20 first place awards. Between 1903 and 1910, she started mountain climbing, becoming the first woman to climb most of the peaks of the French and Swiss Alps - including two ascents of one in the same day. The French Academy of Sports gave her a medal in March 1910 "for all sports".
She was born in Aurillac, in the Cantal département, in France.
Timeline
- 1901: First balloon flight
- July 19, 1907: First balloon flight as pilot
- 1908: Was not allowed to participate in the Tour de France, as it was a man's sport. She rode the course after the race, and completed it, which only about 30 of the more than 100 male starters had done.
- September, 1909: First solo flight in balloon
- September, 1909: First fixed wing flight, with Roger Somers
- October 26, 1909: Became first female pilot to fly a balloon across the North Sea and the English Channel from Europe to England
- 1909-1910: Won several ballooning prizes.
- 1910: Studied fixed wing aviation with Hubert Latham, in the Antoinette airplane - at least one journal has credited her with being the first woman to solo a monoplane.
- June, 1910: Received her balloon pilot's license from the Aero Club of France.
- 1910 - Proposed the development of airplane ambulances to the French government
- November 8, 1910: Became the third woman in the world licensed as a pilot, and the only one ever licensed in the difficult-to-fly Antoinette. First to be licensed in a monoplane.
- December 1910: In competing for the Coupe Femina, set the first official woman's flight record for duration and distance.
- 1911: Won the Coupe Femina in Turin
- 1912: Ordered an airplane ambulance from the Deperdussin company (It was never delivered, due to failure of the company after the owner embezzled all the money.)
- 1914: Appeared in a painting by Friant showing her air ambulance
- 1914: Enlisted in the French Army and served on the front lines as a male infantryman. Later, participated in operations of the 3rd Alpine Regiment of Chasseurs at the direct request of Marshal Foch.
- World War I: Served as a Red Cross nurse
- 1915: Served as volunteer pilot flying bomber missions over Germany. She worked as war correspondent with French Forces in North Africa between the wars.
She devoted the remainder of her long life to the concept of aeromedical evacuation, giving more than 6000 conferences and seminars on the subject on at least four continents. She was co-founder of the French organisation Les Amies De L'Aviation Sanitaire (Friends of Medical Aviation), and was also one of the leaders behind the success of the First International Congress on Medical Aviation, 1929.
She received an award from the Federation National d'Aeronautique at the Sorbonne, for her work in aviation medicine - January 30, 1955.
She was a film director, author and actress: 2 films 1934-5 on the history and development of airplane ambulances.
She established civil air ambulance service in Morocco - and was given the Medal de la Paix of Morocco. She invented the metal ski.
At the age of 80, she flew in a US fighter jet, and reportedly broke the sound barrier.
In 1955, also at the age of 80, she learned to fly a jet helicopter.
She was the most decorated woman in the history of France, with more than 34 medals and decorations.