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Happy Birthday to Jackie Cochran, born #onthisday in 1906 in Muscogee, Florida. After taking her first flying lessons in 1932, she obtained her pilot's license in just three weeks. In 1935, she became the first woman to enter the Bendix Transcontinental Air Race. Although she did not win that year, she did win the 1938 Bendix Trophy. In 1953, she became the first woman to break the sound barrier in a North American F-86 Sabre. She went on to break several more records, including an altitude record in 1961 and a women’s world speed record in 1964. Image: pioneer aviators postage stamps, Jacqueline Cochran, 1996. Gift of John Zukowsky. 2000.054.079 This image was posted on May 11, 2020.