Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman (1892-1926). The tenth of 13 children born to tenant farmers Susan and George Coleman, famed aviatrix Bessie Coleman was a native of Atlanta, Texas. The family moved to Waxahachie when Bessie was two years old. She followed her brothers to Chicago in 1915 and developed an interest in flying. Because she could find no one in the United States who would teach an African-American woman, Coleman learned to fly in France and obtained her international pilot's license in 1921. Upon her return to the United States, she was hailed as the first black woman to pilot an airplane. Bessie Coleman died in an air accident in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1926 and is buried near Chicago. (2002)

Bessie Coleman is a historical marker in Atlanta, Cass County, dedicated in 2002. It is one of 28 historical markers documented in Cass County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 91 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.1140, -94.1650 near Atlanta. The nearest cataloged historic site is Atlanta Historical Museum (museum), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Atlanta-Miller Grade School, Smith-Hoyt-Youngs House, and Pine Crest Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5067012597. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.