10 Facts About Phoebe Omlie

Phoebe Jane Fairgrave Omlie was an American aviation pioneer, particularly noted for her accomplishments as an early female aviator.

Phoebe Omlie was the first woman to cross the Rocky Mountains in a light aircraft, and was considered by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to be one of "eleven women whose achievements make it safe to say the world is progressing".

That same year, Phoebe Omlie competed in the Edsel Ford Air Tour and became the first woman to cross the Rocky Mountains in a light aircraft.

Phoebe Omlie later joined the Ninety-Nines as a charter member after competing in a race with Amelia Earhart.

Phoebe Omlie immediately resigned her position in Washington, DC, and returned to Memphis.

Unhappy about the increasing regulation of the aviation industry by the United States Federal Government under President Harry S Truman, Omlie resigned in 1952 and left aviation.

The hotel business proved to be just as unsuccessful for Phoebe Omlie, who returned to Memphis in 1961.

Phoebe Omlie periodically spoke to aviation groups about her concerns over increasing federal regulation of the industry, but the speaking engagements dwindled over time and ceased by 1970.

The last five years of Phoebe Omlie's life were spent in seclusion, living in a flophouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, fighting lung cancer and alcoholism.

Phoebe Omlie died on July 17,1975, and was buried next to her husband in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis.