Jackie Cochran Biography

Have you ever been told you could not do something, that you should just give up? These same words were said to Jackie Cochran, while she was pursuing her dreams of flying. Jackie Cochran revolutionized women’s flying all around the world. She set records, in her time, that no other man or woman could. Growing up in poverty was just one key element in her drive for success. Things were not always easy being a women aviator, but Jackie Cochran pushed limits. Being the persistent and tireless person she was, Jackie managed to become a world class aviator, break boundaries for women in the flying industry, and change the way women pilots were seen.
Jackie Cochran, also known as Bessie Lee Pittman, was an american pilot who held more records than any other flyer of her time. In 1932, Jackie felt in order to gain advantage for her beautician company that she should learn to fly to call on clients. She had come to love flying so much that by 1935 she had thrown herself in major competitive races like the Bendix. She would go on to win the Bendix Trophy in 1938.

Jackie Cochran changed this whole idea throughout her career. “Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneering 20th-century pilot who advocated for female aviators...”(Biography.com). When told that women could not play a part in the war effort Jackie took a stand. “Discouraged but not defeated, Cochran threw herself into air races and began to set records, In 1940, she broke both the national 100 kilometer and international 2,000 kilometer speed records”(Biography.com). This would later show men all over that women could do anything thing they put their minds to. Jackie revolutionized women’s flying in the U.S Army Corps by setting the records that she did. All of her accomplishments would go on to contribute to change because it conveyed to generals, male aviators, and even women themselves that women could fly just as well as men