Aviation pioneer Janet Harmon Bragg was born in the city of Griffin, Georgia, on March 24, 2007. She developed a strong interest in flying at a young age. In 1933, Bragg enrolled at Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical University in Chicago. By that time, the university had become an aviation school for blacks that was managed by pilots John C. Robinson (1903-1954) and Cornelius Coffey (1903-1994).
As the only woman in a class of 25 aviation students, Bragg fought an uphill battle for respect but ultimately earned that through her initiative and leadership. Bragg donated $600 of her own money to help the university purchase its first plane, for example, and she also contributed money to the construction of an airfield in Robbins, Illinois, for that aviation school. In addition, she collaborated with Robinson, Coffey, her fellow female aviation pioneer Willa Brown (1906-1992), and several others in establishing the Challenger Air Pilots Association (later renamed the National Airmen’s Association of America) to help connect blacks across the country who were likewise interested in learning how to fly.
Bragg went on to earn her private pilot’s license and work as a flight instructor. During World War II, she applied to join the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) but was rejected because of her race. Bragg eventually enrolled in the branch of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) at the Tuskegee Institute (now called Tuskegee University) in Alabama. After completing CPTP’s mandatory coursework and passing a written exam, Bragg was denied a commercial pilot’s license in Alabama due to her skin color. She then returned to Chicago and, after retaking the flight test at that region’s Pal-Waukee airfield (the present-day Chicago Executive Airport), made history as the first African American woman to receive a commercial pilot’s license.
Bragg maintained a strong enthusiasm for airborne travel throughout her long life. She died in the city of Blue Island, Illinois, on April 1, 1993, at the age of 86. Her autobiography Soaring Above Setbacks, which she developed with assistance from aviation editor and writer Marjorie M. Kriz (1920-2007), was posthumously published in 1996. Bragg was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Hall of Fame in 2025.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution Archives (in accordance with the terms of use cited at https://www.si.edu/termsofuse)
Additional information on Janet Harmon Bragg is available at https://www.si.edu/collections/snapshot/janet-harmon-bragg-aviator and https://www.wai.org/phof-directory/janet-harmon-bragg
Transportation History 
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