Bozena Laglerová (December 11, 1888 – October 8, 1941) was the first woman from the Kingdom of Bohemia and the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire to obtain a pilot’s license.
Born in Prague to Vojtěch Lagler, a financial directorate secretary, she studied singing at the Prague Conservatory and graduated in 1906. After two years as a soloist at the Vinohrady Theatre, she went to Paris for further vocal training, but a vocal cord illness ended her singing career.
In 1909, Laglerová attended the International Aviation Exhibition in Frankfurt am Main with her brother-in-law, a professor at the Czech Technical University. Soon after, she witnessed demonstration flights of Hans Grade’s aircraft in Prague. Grade, an early German aviation pioneer, ran a pilot school and aircraft factory in Borkheide near Berlin, where students were trained on his own machines.
In February 1911, Laglerová enrolled in Grade’s pilot school. Each student had to help in the workshop to understand the aircraft’s structure. The Grade monoplane, built of steel tubes and bamboo rods, was powered by a 24-horsepower two-stroke engine and cruised at 70 km/h.
In May 1911, during training for her pilot exam, Laglerová crashed after clipping tree branches. She suffered a bruised breastbone and spinal injuries, spending several months in recovery. Early aviation was extremely dangerous. By mid-1911, about 30 pilots had already died in crashes that year alone.
Despite her injuries, Laglerová returned to flying and in September 1911 successfully passed her FAI pilot test. She received her Austrian license (No. 37) and German license (No. 125) in October, becoming the first licensed female pilot in Bohemia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Soon afterward, she won the Silver Cup at an aviation competition in Hanover, the first international aviation prize earned by a Czech pilot.
In 1912, Laglerová accepted an offer to perform as a sport pilot in the Caribbean. She achieved great success in Cuba, where she was known as “La Aviadora”. Later she performed in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Her family sent her money to return home, but she chose to continue her career. She traveled to New York, earning a living as a cook, seamstress, and writer for expatriate newspapers. Late in 1912, she went to Ecuador, where she performed a public flight in a Curtiss aircraft in Guayaquil.
Before World War I, Laglerová returned to her homeland and applied to the Austro-Hungarian army as an instructor or pilot, but women were not permitted to serve. In 1919, she married Josef Peterka, an aviation instructor and aerial photogrammetry expert. She gave up flying after the war and worked as a journalist, continuing to promote aviation. Bozena Laglerová died of heart disease in October 1941.
Source:
Wikipedia
Book La Aviadora - můj sen, Hanuš Salz, Praha 2009
For the Rules of this Open series and the current List of caches see the GC Open #01 listing.
Just in case, a local cacher will provide maintenance assistance.