Bessie Coleman Google doodle celebrates 125th birthday of first African-American female aviator

Today’s Google doodle marks the 125th birthday of Bessie Coleman, the first female pilot of African-American and Native American descent.

The doodle includes an animated image of Bessie, or “Queen Bessie,” as she was known during her exhibition flying career — and links to a query for “Bessie Coleman.”

After being denied admittance to an aviation school in the US because she was an African-American woman, Coleman moved to Paris and earned an international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

From the Google Doodle Blog:

Returning to the US, Coleman excelled at exhibition flying, performing complex stunts in flight for packed audiences. It was during this time that she acquired the nickname “Queen Bessie.” She was an adept, daring, and beloved pilot, until her untimely death at the age of 34.

Here is the animated image being displayed on Google’s home page in the US, Canada and a handful of other countries around the world:

Coleman’s life was cut short during a flight with William Willis, her mechanic and publicity agent. She was thrown from the plane piloted by Willis, who also died when their flight went down outside of Jacksonville, Florida.

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Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.