Ruth Nichols
Toronto Daily Star, October 21 1935
Ruth Rowland Nichols (1901-1960) survived this crash, but suffered a broken left wrist, ankle and nose, contusions, and burns. She was not able to fly again for a year. The pilot did not survive.
Ms. Nichols went on to have a distinguished career as a pilot. In 1959, at the age of 58, she underwent the same training as the Mercury astronauts, and urged the Air Force to include women as astronauts. (Trigger warning ahead.) Whether it was because this idea was rejected or for other reasons, she became depressed and took her own life in 1960 with an overdose of barbiturates.
Created August 8, 2025.