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Willa Brown

1906–1992

United States

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Biography

Willa Beatrice Brown (January 22, 1906 – July 18, 1992) was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license. She was a lifelong advocate for gender and racial equality in the field of aviation as well as in the military.

Sources & collection details

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Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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