Dorothy Layne McIntyre | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dorothy Arlene Layne (1917-01-27)January 27, 1917 |
| Died | August 30, 2015(2015-08-30) (aged 98) |
| Alma mater | West Virginia State College |
| Known for | One of the first licensed Black female pilots |
| Spouse | F. Benjamin McIntyre |
| Children | 2, includingDianne McIntyre |
| Parent(s) | Clyde and Lena Hart Layne |
| Awards | Bessie Coleman Award, 1994 |
Dorothy Arlene Layne McIntyre (27 January 1917 – 30 August 2015) was an African-American aviator and educator. In 1940, she became the firstAfrican-American woman to receive a pilot's license from theCivil Aeronautics Authority.
Dorothy Arlene Layne was born inLe Roy, New York in 1917.[1] Dorothy's mother died when she was five years old.[2] She was raised by her widowed father who managed a farm and her grandparents, who urged her and her sister Ruth to get an education. As a child, her father would take her to airshows at the localLe Roy Airport, where she would take her first flight in an airplane aged 11 or 12.[3]
Layne was reportedly an excellent student, graduating from Le Roy High School in 1936.[3] After completing her secondary school education, Layne attendedWest Virginia State College on a scholarship.[2]
In 1939, she enrolled in Virginia State College's cadet flying program, the only woman to be accepted to the program.[4][3] There, she completed her pilot's training on aPiper J-3 Cub.[2] On February 23, 1940, she received her pilot's license from the Civil Aeronautics Authority,[5][6] becoming the first black woman to ever receive a license.[1][7] During World War II, she applied to join theWomen Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, but was denied because of her race.[1] She next applied to the Civil Aviation Authority to be a lookout for enemy aircraft, but was denied when she appeared at the interview.[3] Layne would go on to teach aircraft mechanics in Baltimore, Maryland and work as a secretary for the Baltimore Urban League.[8]
In 1942, Layne married Francis Benjamin McIntyre and the pair moved toCleveland, Ohio.[8] The couple would have two daughters. When her children were born, McIntyre gave up flying.[4] McIntyre would become an accountant and teacher at Cleveland's Paul Revere School.[2]
In 2002 she was inducted into the Cleveland Educators and Alumni Hall of Fame.[1]
McIntyre died on August 30, 2015.[9]
In 2020, she was featured in "The Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World," an exhibition at the Rochester Museum & Science Center.[10]