Jean Ethel Burns
Jean Ethel Burns 14 December 1919 – 25 May 2019 was the first female to parachute from a plane and held the title of the youngest female pilot for 15 years! And yet, her name remains very absent from the history pages, and a far cry from Jessie Miller and her glitzy life of murder trials and flight.
What connects these women is the relationship between Jean and Nancy Bird Walton. These two women carried such a legacy, and Ms Burns continued to defy the taboos of her time and literally, took a leap of faith out of a plane at the young age of 17, and had originally planned to jump at 16 but complained that the cost of parachute was far too much – a grand 80 pounds!
At 17, I was busy daydreaming of moving to live on the beach! Forget flying!
Jean’s story is critical, and, has largely been forgotten which is a deep shame considering her achievements within her field and her connections with Nancy Bird-Walton. Most amusingly, Ms Burns was threatened by the authorities stating that her jumps were ‘unlawful’ and ironically enough, she was never arrested!
Another tenacious woman who dared to literally crash through the glass ceiling on pain of great personal injury or arrest.
Submitted by Dayna Scott
