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Bernetta Adams Miller (1886-1975) received her aviator's license in 1912 from the Aero Club of America of New York, making her the third female Early Bird. A month later, she helped demonstrate the Bleriot monoplane to the United States government at College Park, MD. Due to the financial expenses, that was the end of her flying career. In World War I she worked in Paris at the YMCA as an accountant and then a canteen worker at the front and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. She then spent 7 years as a bursar of the American Girls College in Istanbul, Turkey. She returned to the U.S. in 1933 and worked at several more colleges until she retired - at one of which, Princeton, she met and worked with Albert Einstein.

 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0689

Creator

Miller, Bernetta Adams

Date

bulk 1912-1970

Provenance

Bernetta Adams Miller, Gift

Extent

0.05 Cubic feet ((1 folder))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection includes photographs of Bernetta Miller's aviator's license and of Miller in 1963. There is also a personally written account of her first monoplane flight, a newspaper article, and an Early Bird reunion program.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Bernetta A. Miller Collection, Accession XXXX-0689, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Women in aeronautics

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Manuscripts