Hélène Dutrieu

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Hélène Dutrieu
Dutrieu as a cyclist

Hélène Dutrieu (born July 10, 1877 in Tournai , Belgium , † June 27, 1961 in Paris ), known as The Falcon Girl , was a Belgian cyclist , pilot and aviation pioneer .

Life

Advertising poster for the Simpson Lever company , with Hélène Dutrieu in second position

Hélène Dutrieu was the daughter of a Belgian army officer. At the age of 14, she left school to earn a living. She began her sporting career as a professional cyclist for the Simpson Lever Chain Team . As a member of this team, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec presumably featured her on one of the company's advertising posters. Her brother Eugène was also active as a professional cyclist from 1894 to 1901.

In 1895, Hélène Dutrieu set the hour record for women (behind pacemakers ). In 1895, 1897 and 1898 she was the (unofficial) sprint world champion in Ostend, Belgium , and in 1895 she was the first woman ever. In 1898 she won the Grand Prix d'Europe and a twelve-day race (1896 or 1898). She was awarded a high order by the Belgian King Leopold II . Also in 1898 she ended her career as a cyclist.

Dutrieu became famous in 1903 with her circus and variety show "The Human Arrow", a wheel sensation number that included several meters of free flight. Her competitor was the French sensation artist Mauricia de Thiers, who at the same time celebrated great success with her "Autobolide". The successful artist Dutrieu remains true to her passion for the theater and works as an actress. The Belgian recognizes parallels in her artistic work and that of the actress. The account of a contemporary witness confirms that the staging of sensational numbers in circus or variety shows is dramatic and creates a great emotional impact on the audience:

Do you still remember the 'human arrow', this shudder, the fear, this horror, this frenzy? An interrupted track, the interrupting orchestra, the immense leap into the void - and the unleashed audience, the exposed nerves, screaming, roaring, cheering, while on the other side (...), the cheeks a bit pale, but with an unmoving forehead, one tiny Ephebe waved and smiled.

Hélène Dutrieu soon discovered her love for flying. In 1908 she flew a Santos-Dumont of the Demoiselle type for the first time (without flight lessons) - and made a crash landing. Then she decided to learn how to fly properly and shortly after Raymonde de Laroche in France, she acquired the pilot's license from the Aéro Club de Belgique in 1910 . In September of the same year it caught the attention of the public with a non-stop flight over 45 km from Ostend to Bruges .

In a race in Florence in 1911 , she was the only female participant in the race to win the coveted trophy of the Italian king. In the fall of this year she took part in the Nassau-Boulevard Flugtag in the USA, where she won a prize in an endurance race. On December 31st, she set a new world record for women in 2 hours 58 minutes (254 km). She also won the Coupe Femina in 1910 and 1911.

In 1913 she was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honor for her flying achievements .

Hélène Dutrieu was one of the few women who served in World War I. She was a member of the Paris Air Force, which was supposed to protect the capital from attacks by German planes and military airships .

After the war she became an ambulance driver. In 1922 she married a French man and took French citizenship. During the Second World War she ran a military hospital.

Aviation achievements

Hélène Dutrieu (ca.1911)
  • First Belgian female pilot
  • April 19, 1910: First woman in the world to fly a passenger
  • 1910: World record in long-haul flight with one passenger (45 km in 40 minutes)
  • 1911: First woman who stayed in the air for over an hour (1 hour 11 minutes) (shortly afterwards she broke this record again with 2 hours 45 minutes)
  • 1910–11: Various stage wins in the Coupe Femina (the Coupe was won by Marie Marvingt )
  • 1914–18: First woman in the Paris Air Force

literature

  • Stephanie Haerdle: Don't be afraid, that's our job! Artistic riders, trainers and other circus performers . AvivA, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-932338-29-8 , pp. 186–191.
  • Gertrud Pfister: Flies - your life. The first female pilots . Orlanda, Berlin 1989. ISBN 3-922166-49-0
  • Ernst Probst: queens of the skies . Biographies of famous female pilots. Probst, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-935718-76-4 . 104 p., Numer. Ill.
  • Gunter Segers: Hélène Dutrieu. Biography van een fenomeen . Les Iles, Antwerp 2018, ISBN 978-94-91545-47-4 (Dutch).

Web links

Commons : Hélène Dutrieu  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ Philip McCouat: Toulouse-Lautrec, the bicycle and the women's movement - Journal of Art in Society. In: artinsociety.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Eugène Dutrieu. In: cycling pages. Retrieved on April 24, 2015 (the).
  3. ^ A b Ralph S. Cooper, DVM: Hélène Dutrieux. In: Early Aviators. August 23, 1910, accessed April 24, 2015 . The year numbers for the individual races vary from source to source.
  4. ↑ 19C Female Riders. In: Six Day Cycle Race. Retrieved April 24, 2015 .
  5. ^ Adrian: Attractions Sensational. Les ‹Casse-Cou› du Cirque et du Music-Hall . Bourg-La-Reine 1962
personal data
SURNAME Dutrieu, Hélène
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian pilot and aviation pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH Tournai , Belgium
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 1961
Place of death Paris