Bessie Coleman
June 11, 2008
Bessie Coleman /BEH see KOHL muhn/ n. 1.) Famed Chicago aviator who moved north from Texas in 1915 and who, despite prejudice she faced as a woman and an African American, became an airplane pilot. Wasn't allowed to train in the United States, so learned French, got her international pilot's license there and returned here as a barnstorming pilot. Killed in a 1926 plane crash in Florida. 2.) The namesake of Bessie Coleman Drive at O'Hare Airport, best known for its rent-a-car businesses.