Lillian Boyer (1901–89) was a young waitress in 1921 when two customers took her for a ride in their airplane. The same week, she took another ride and climbed out of the cockpit onto the wing, thus beginning a career as an aerial exhibitionist. In her eight-year career, she was featured in 352 shows throughout the United States and Canada, performing stunts including wing walking, parachuting, and transferring herself from moving automobiles to flying planes. We’ve just added a selection of photos of Boyer to our collections website, including this one-handed hang from around 1922. View more death-defying photos of Lillian Boyer by visiting our Digital Collections.
Ellice Engdahl is Digital Collections and Content Manager at The Henry Ford.Additional Readings:
- 1917 Curtiss JN-4 “Canuck” Biplane
- A Stunt-Flying Aviatrix
- Morgan Gies: Driver to the Presidents
- Ford Flivver Airplane #1, 1926
20th century, women's history, digital collections, by Ellice Engdahl, airplanes
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