Louise McPhetridge Thaden (1905-1979) was one of the United States foremost female aviators during the late 1920s and 1930s. She received instruction in 1927, soloing and receiving her pilot's license in 1928. In December 1928, Thaden achieved a new altitude record of 20,260 ft. In March 1929, she made a new solo duration record, 22+ hours. A month later she set a new speed record of 156 mph. Thaden was the only woman to hold all three records simultaneously. In August 1929, Thaden won the First Women's National Air Derby, commonly called the Powder Puff Derby. Three years later (August 1932), she, along with Francis Marsalis, set the new refueling duration record of 196 hours. In July 1936, Thaden set the new light plane speed record at 109.58 mph. In the same year, she also won the National Air Race, and was awarded the Bendix Transcontinental Air Race Trophy, becoming the first woman ever to receive this trophy. She set an East-West speed record in 1936, and an inter-city distance speed record and another 109.56 mph speed record in 1937.

Ms. Thaden also distinguished herself in her efforts to promote aviation safety through campaigns to mark airports more effectively. She actively sought ways to promote women in aviation through her work with the U.S. Department of Defense, Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) 1959-1961 and in her work with the Civil Air Patrol, 1949-1979. She also co-founded the Ninety-Nines, and organization of women pilots. She received numerous awards and honors throughout her life including: Harmon Trophy, Famous Aviators Wall -- Mission Inn (Riverside, CA), Arkansas Aviators Hall of Fame, First Flight Society Hall of Fame, Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame, International Aerospace Hall of Fame of the San Diego Aerospace Museum, National Aviation Hall of Fame, Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, and Civil Air Patrol Distinguished Service Award and Meritorious Service Award. She was also an active writer who published an autobiography entitled High, Wide and Frightened and several journal and newspaper articles. In 1928, she married Herbert von Thaden, an aeronautical engineer and designer of several all-metal aircraft. They had two children, William and Patricia, who donated the materials found in the collection.

The Louise McPhetridge Thaden Collection contains numerous newspaper and journal articles, personal letters and business correspondence, writings, photographs, and scrapbooks, all relating to her aviation career. This collection had little original arrangement, and accordingly, has been divided into six general series according to material types.

The National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Archives Division also holds additional materials about Louise Thaden. Biographical information can be found in the biographical fiche collection at the NASM Archives/Garber Facility. In the NASM Archives downtown facility, we recommend the Biographical Files which contain additional newspaper and journal articles, letters, memorabilia, and photographs. Please note that these files also contain microfiche.

For additional photographs please see the NASM videodisc files located at the NASM Archives facility downtown. The images can be seen on NASM videodisc 7B-6445 - 6491 (Accession # 1989-0132). Also check NASM videodisc 2B-46705 - 46805. In most cases, there are original videodisc prints available in the NASM Archives facility downtown and copy negatives at the Smithsonian Institution, Office of Printing and Photographic Services (OPPS). Please consult a staff member for more details and about ordering procedures.

Personal

• Born, Iris Louise McPhetridge, 12 November 1905, Bentonville Arkansas: Roy Fry and Edna Hobbs McPhetridge
• University of Arkansas, 1921-1926
• Married, 21 July 1928: Herbert von Thaden
• Children: William and Patricia
• Died, 9 November 1979

Professional

• J.H. Turner Coal & Building Materials Company, Wichita Kansas: Sales 1926-1927
• D.C. Warren Company, Oakland, CA (Airplane Distributor): Sales & manager 1928-1929
• Pittsburgh Aviation Industries: Public Relations 1930-1931
• Penn School of Aeronautics: Director, Women's Division 1930-1931
• US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Air Commerce: Developed & organized (with Phoebe Omlie) National Air Marking Program, 1934: Initiated program 1935-1936
• Beech Aircraft Corporation: Factory Representative 1937-1940
• Porterfield Aircraft Company: Factory Representative 1941
• Thaden Engineering Company: Purchasing Agent & Office Manager 1943-1948; Research & Development, Reinforced plastics, Roanoke, Virginia, 1953-1954
• Thaden Molding Corporation: Vice President, Director, High Point, North Carolina, 1955-1961
• Thaden Engineering Company: Partner 1961-1969; Sole Owner, High Point, North Carolina, 1969-1979

Aviation Records and Races

• Altitude, First official altitude record for women in the US, 7 December 1928; 20,260 feet, Hisso 180 hp Travel Air
• Solo Duration, 16 & 17 March 1929; 22 hrs 3 minutes 28 seconds, Hisso 180 hp Travel Air
• Speed, 18 April 1929; 156 mph, Wright J-5 Travel Air
• Only woman ever to hold all 3 records simultaneously (Altitude, Solo Duration, & Speed)
• Winner, first National Woman's Air-Derby, 18-26 August 1929; 20:02:02, average speed 135.97 mph, Wright J-5 Travel Air; Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH
• Refueling Duration, (with Francis Marsalis) 14-22 August 1932; 196 hrs, Wright J-6 220 hp Curtiss Thrush, "The Flying Boudoir"
• Light Plane Speed, 12 July 1936; 109.58 mph (100 km), 90 hp Porterfield
• Winner, Bendix Transcontinental Air Race, 4 September 1936; First woman to win Bendix, Wright 420 hp Beech Staggerwing CI7R; New York to Los Angeles, 14 hrs 55 minutes
• East-West Speed, 4 September 1936; New York to Los Angeles; 165.346 mph, Wright 420 hp Beech Staggerwing CI7R
• Inter-City Distance Speed, 21 January 1937; Wright 420 hp Beech Staggerwing; Detroit to Akron, 40 minutes 43 seconds
• 100 km Speed, 29 May 1937, 197.9 mph, Wright 420 hp Beech Staggerwing D17

Aviation History

• 1927 Instruction
• 1928 Solo, (8 February)
• 1928 Federation Aeronautique Internationale Aviators Certificate No. 6850, (28 February) after approximately 5 hrs 15 minutes solo time, signed by Orville Wright
• 1929 Transport pilot License No. 1943 (4th woman to earn this rating)

Organizations

• Delta Delta Delta (Delta Iota Chapter)
• Ninety-Nines (International Organization of Women Pilots)
  • Founding & Charter Member
  • First de facto President 1929-1930
  • National Secretary 1930-1936
  • Vice President 1934-1936
  • Amelia Earhart Scholarship Committee 1960-1961
• National Aeronautic Association; National Secretary 1937-1938
• Veteran Air Pilots
• American Red Cross Motor Corps 1945-1952
• OX5 Pioneers Club of America
• Silver Wings
• Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA)
• US Department of Defense, Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) 1959-1961; Executive Committee 1960-1961, Information Sub-committee Chairman 1960-1961
• Civil Air Patrol 1949-1970
  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • Command Pilot
  • Search & Rescue Mission Pilot
  • Cadet Squadron Commander
  • Director of Cadets, Virginia Wing
  • Director of Cadets Squadron, Cadets Middle East Region
  • Coordinator for Women, Middle East Region
  • National Commanders Cadet Committee
  • National Commanders Training Committee Chairman 1959-1963
  • National Scholarships Committee
  • Retired Status 1970
• League of American Pen Women, Honorary Member (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Business & Professional Women, 381st (Vincinnes, IN)
• Strategic Missile Wing, United States Air Force (Wichita, KS)

Honors and Awards

• Harmon Trophy (Aviatrix) Federation Aeronautique Internationale, 1936, Champion Aviatrix of the United States
• Baltimore Sunday News Outstanding Female Trophy, 1932
• Famous Aviators Wall, Mission Inn, Riverside, CA
• Civil Air Patrol: Distinguished Service Award; Exceptional Service Award; Meritorious Service Award with Cluster
• OX5 Club of America, Broadwick Award - Outstanding Aviatrix
• Citation: The Society of Experimental Test Pilots
• Airport: Louise M. Thaden Field, Bentonville, AR
• The Louise M. Thaden Office & Library, Staggerwing Museum, Tullahoma, TN, 1974
• OX5 Pioneer Aviators Hall of Fame
• OX5 Silver Wings Achievement Award, 1973
• Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame, 1980
• First Flight Society Aviation Hall of Fame, Kitty Hawk, NC, 1988
• Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame, 1989
• Recreation flight, 1929 First Women's Air Derby, 60th Anniversary, 1989, Susan Dusenbury, pilot
• Flying helmet taken aboard Atlantis Space Shuttle by Mission Specialist Linda Goodwin, Ph.D., NASA Flight #STS-37, April 5-11, 1991
• Staggerwing Beech Commemorative Tour honoring Louise Thaden, winner of 1936 Bendix Transcontinental Air Race; 60th Anniversary, August 1996
• Award of Achievement, The Ninety-Nines, Inc., July 1997
• The International Aerospace Hall of Fame of the San Diego Aerospace Museum, April 1999
• National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dayton OH, July 1999
• Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame, March 2000
• Louise Thaden Woman of the Year Award - Annual presentation by Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce at the NW AR Business Women's Conference, began 2000
• Women in Aviation, International - named as one of the "100 Women Who Made a Difference" in the history of aviation, 14th annual conference, March 2003

This series contains mostly journal and newspaper articles, but also includes telegrams, letters, applications, invitations, examples of commercial endorsements, membership certificates, and original race information and itineraries. It is arranged in chronological order. Significant events are highlighted. In some cases, newspaper clippings with handwritten messages have been kept for their inherent value.

1927 - December 1928

December 1928 - February 1929, Altitude Record

March 1929, Endurance Record

March - April 1929, General

April 1929, Speed Record

April - August 1929, General

August 1929, National Women's Derby--The Race

August 1929, National Women's Derby--The Victory

August - December 1929, General

1930, General

1931, Air Derby

1931, General

1932, Refueling Duration Record

1932 - 1934, General

1934 -1935, Air Marking Program

1935, General

1936, Bendix Race/National Air Races

1936, General

1937, General

1938 - 1945, General

1946 - 1949, General

1950, Powder Puff Derby-Montreal to West Palm Beach, Florida

1950 - 1959, General

1960 - 1961, General

1962 - 1975, General

1976, Airport Rededication Ceremony

1976 - 1980, 1989, General

This series contains samples of Louise Thaden's various writings. It is arranged in chronological order.

This series contains photographs. The subject matter ranges from childhood activities to award ceremonies. It is divided by two large subject groupings: first--people (arranged by general categories), second--events (arranged by date). All paperwork directly related to a particular photograph has been kept with that photograph. Please note that Smithsonian Institution negative numbers are written on the back of each photograph when applicable. Sub-topics listed in the finding aid are meant to highlight particular topics in each folder and are not intended to indicate exclusive content. Please review each folder thoroughly.

People

Events

Miscellaneous

This series contains seven scrapbooks of various sizes and content and two Civil Air Patrol award certificates. The inclusive dates are listed next to the individual scrapbook below. The content of the scrapbooks date mostly from 1919-1940 and contain photographs, newspaper articles, membership certificates, licenses, contestant ribbons, invitations, business cards, and cartoons about Thaden. Handling notes are listed next to individual scrapbooks in the finding aid. Please follow these notes so that the physical integrity of the object can be preserved.

This series contains information about Thaden Aircraft Company and Herbert von Thaden. Items in this series include: newspaper and journal article, resumes, letters, photographs, and information about the All-Metal aircraft created by Herbert Thaden. This series is the only portion of the collection with any obvious arrangement and was separated into its own series for this reason.

This series contains all of the materials that do not appear to fit easily into any of the above series. The items in this series include undated or general journal and newspaper articles, newspapers from University of Arkansas, maps, Who's Who application, musical score, souvenir stamps, travel souvenirs, and resumes.