1. Amelie Hedwig Beese was born in Dresden on 13 September 1886 to Alma Wilhemine Hedwig Beese and Friedrich Karl Richard Beese, an architect and master mason.
19 Facts About Amelie Beese
1. 2.
Amelie Beese had a younger brother Edgar, and two half siblings from her father's first marriage, Hertha and Kurt.
3.
In 1906 Beese decided to pursue a career as a sculptor; however, she had to leave her native Germany to study, as German art schools did not admit female students.
4.
Amelie Beese studied instead at Stockholm's Royal Academy from 1906 until 1909, and created a number of works including a bronze bust of the painter Allan Egnell which has survived.
5.
Amelie Beese won a prize for a group sculpture, The Soccer Players.
6.
Amelie Beese's father encouraged her to attend Dresden's Politechnic School in preparation for becoming an aviator and she began studying mathematics, shipbuilding, and aeronautic engineering.
7.
The students at Johannisthal gathered in the Cafe Senftleben and Amelie Beese joined them, although she was less welcome on the flying field itself where she struggled to get anyone to agree to teach her how to fly.
8.
Amelie Beese was to work in the engineering shop for the rest of the time.
9.
In December 1910, Amelie Beese took her first flight with Thelen demonstrating how to fly.
10.
Amelie Beese let her parents know about the accident but her father died very soon afterwards of a heart attack and she returned to the family home.
11.
Amelie Beese, encouraged by this flying experience, but disappointed at the time spent fixing up the old plane rather than flying it, sought to gain more flying time, and spoke with the director of Johannisthal to this end, returning there to an updated flying field.
12.
Amelie Beese encountered several setbacks, including sabotage of her aircraft by other participating aviators who were concerned that women pilots would steal their thunder.
13.
The school had a good safety record but wasn't able to attract enough pupils, so Amelie Beese let Reichelt go.
14.
Amelie Beese hoped to benefit from this funding to develop her work, but as Boutard was French, their company could not legally be given work connected with the military.
15.
Amelie Beese felt that a new cutting edge plane would help attract pupils and used her early training in architecture to begin to design and patent a collapsible aircraft.
16.
Amelie Beese later worked with Charles Boutard on plans for a flying boat.
17.
Amelie Beese was eventually arrested with her husband and tried as "undesirable aliens".
18.
Amelie Beese had an unfortunate accident the same year, crashing the airplane she was flying when she reapplied for her pilot's license.
19.
In 1993, the flying club Aeroclub Mellie Amelie Beese was formed in Berlin.