Jeanne Aline Herveux, generally known as Jane Herveu, (10 December 1885 – 14 January 1955) was a pioneering French aviator who obtained her pilot's licence, no. 318, on 7 December 1910.

Early life

Born on 10 December 1885 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

,''Archives de l’état civil de Paris en ligne'', acte de naissance No. 19/3629/1885. Mention marginale : mariage en 1913 avec Paul Boulzaguet Herveux was first known as an automobile exhibition driver, performing at the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in London and taking part in car and motorcycle races at various locations in France.

Flying career

After training at the

Louis Bleriot Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

's flying school, she received French Licence No. 318 on 7 December 1910, becoming the fourth woman in France to be licensed after

Elise Deroche Raymonde de Laroche (22 August 1882 – 18 July 1919) was a French pilot, thought to be the first woman to pilot a plane. She became the world's first licensed female pilot on 8 March 1910. She received the 36th aeroplane pilot's licence issue ...

, Marthe Niel and

Marie Marvingt Marie Marvingt (20 February 1875 – 14 December 1963) was a French athlete, mountaineer, aviator, and journalist. She won numerous prizes for her sporting achievements including those of swimming, cycling, mountain climbing, winter sports, ballo ...

. Herveux became a member of the

Aéroclub féminin la Stella The Aéroclub Féminin la Stella was a French women's aeronautical organisation. It was founded on 10 February 1909 in Paris by Marie Surcouf, a French aeronaut and campaigner for women's rights. Known as La Stella, the organisation's membership ...

, a women's flying club set up by

Marie Surcouf Marie Surcouf (19 May 1863 – 11 March 1928) was a French Balloon (aeronautics), balloonist and feminist. In 1906, she was the first French woman to earn an aeronautical balloon pilot's license and later that year she became the first French wo ...

in 1909. From 28 May to 8 June 1911 she appeared at the flying exhibition in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. After several other appearances, she competed in the

Femina Cup The Femina Cup or ''Coupe Femina'' was an award of 2000 francs established in 1910 by Pierre Lafitte, the publisher of French women's magazine ''Femina'', to honour women pilots. This French challenge was opened to women aviators only. About ...

in 1911 but did not win. She opened a flying school for women but it was not successful. Jane Herveu 1921

Later life

In 1913, she married Paul Boulzaguet. After the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she moved to the United States where she worked in fashion. She died on 14 January 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herveu, Jane 1885 births 1955 deaths French aviation pioneers Aviators from Paris French women aviators