Anka Vassileva Lambreva () (22 February 1895 – 18 February 1976) was a Bulgarian nurse, teacher and adventurer. She became the first Bulgarian woman to fly across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

and circumnavigate the world. Anka was born in

Karlovo Karlovo ( ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a population of about 1 ...

, Bulgaria in a poor family of five children. Her father was unable to support her, however she managed to graduate a high school in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

while working as a maid. For a year and a half she studied medicine and worked as a clerk in an insurance company in Sofia to support herself, but both her parents dies and she was forced to move back to Karlovo and started a job as a teacher. In 1922 Anka won a scholarship for the American College in Istanbul, where she studied nursing and interned at a local hospital. Over the next six years she worked at a hospital near the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

and saved the lives of several people, including a baby. Anka Lambreva first voyage

Her first round the world trip began in March 1928 when she left Istanbul and boarded a steamship to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand where she also worked as a nurse. During the three-month journey Anka explored Egypt, India,

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and Australia. In 1929 she left New Zealand and headed back to Bulgaria passing through

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, Canada, United States, England, France and Germany.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambreva, Anka 1895 births 1976 deaths Bulgarian women aviators People from Karlovo Bulgarian explorers Circumnavigators of the globe