Bird, Nancy (1915-2009), an Australian aviator, became the youngest woman in the British Empire to obtain a commercial pilot’s license. She received the license in 1934, when she was only 19 years old.
Nancy Bird was born on Oct. 16, 1915, in Kew, near Sydney, Australia. She had her first flying lesson from the Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in 1932, at the age of 17. She obtained her A class flying license the same year. While operating a charter service, she assisted the Far West Scheme, which served sick children in remote areas by transporting nurses and patients. During World War II (1939-1945), she commanded Australia’s Women’s Air Training Corps. In 1939, she married Charles Walton, an Englishman, and became known as Nancy-Bird Walton. She died on Jan. 13, 2009.
