OTD in 1912. Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
Quimby took off from Dover, England, en route to Calais, France, and made the flight in 59 minutes, landing about 40 km from Calais on a beach in Équihen-Plage, Pas-de-Calais. Her accomplishment received little media attention as it occurred the day after the sinking of the Titanic ocean liner. To complete her flight across the English Channel she purchased a Bleriot 50 monoplane.