Jean Hixson

Jean Hixson (September 30, 1922 – September 21, 1984) was an American aviator, a Women Airforce Service Pilot and part of the Mercury 13. She was also the second woman to exceed Mach One.

Jean Hixson
Born(1922-09-30)September 30, 1922
Hoopeston, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 21, 1984(1984-09-21) (aged 61)
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Military career
Service/branchUnited States Air Force Reserve
RankColonel

Early life

Jean Hixson was born in Hoopeston, Illinois.[1][2] Hixson began taking flying lessons at age 16 and was able to get her pilot's license by the age of 18. After Hixson received her license, she began to train with the Women's Air force Service Pilots (WASP). During World War II Hixson flew B-25 Mitchells as an engineering test pilot. After the war, she became a flight instructor in Akron, Ohio. After hours, she attended Akron University and received a degree in Elementary and Secondary Education.[3]

In 1957 Hixson also became the second woman to exceed the speed of sound, in a Lockheed F-94C Starfire flying at over 840 miles per hour (1,350 km/h).[4]

Mercury 13

The Mercury 13 was a group of women who underwent training in 1959 to train for mission Mercury. Hixson was a member of this group.[5]

Life after Mercury 13

After testing in the Mercury 13 program, Hixson went to work at the Flight Simulator Techniques branch of the USAF Reserve at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.[3]

In 1982, she retired from the Air Force Reserves as a colonel, and that same year chaired a WASP reunion.

In 1983, she completed 30 years of service with the Akron, Ohio school system.

Hixson died of cancer at age 61 on September 21, 1984.[6]

See also

References
  1. Endres, Kathleen L. (September 11, 2013). "Jean Hixson, 1922–1984". Akron Women's History. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  2. Starzyk, Edith (March 14, 2011). "Akron teacher, pilot Jean Hixson joined pioneering group of women: Women's History Month". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  3. Hallonquist, Al. "Jean Hixson". Mercury 13 – the women of the Mercury Era.
  4. Wlegand, Virginia (September 23, 1984). "Jean Hixson, flier, former teacher, dies". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. B5. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  5. Madrigal, Alexis C. (July 24, 2012). "The Women Who Would Have Been Sally Ride". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  6. "Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Jean Hixson". Space Facts. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
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