Did you know that the first woman to fly a plane solo in the United States grew up here in Rockford, Illinois? I didn’t either until today!
Cool Rockford History
I’ve lived in Rockford my whole life, and I thought I knew just about every cool hometown story there was…until I stumbled across the incredible life of Bessica Faith Medlar Raiche.
Bessica was born in Beloit, Wisconsin. in April 1875, but she spent the majority of her youth living in Rockford, Illinois. She was an 1894 graduate of Rockford High School, an artist, a musician, a feminist, a doctor, and the very first woman to fly an airplane solo in the United States!
How did I not know that such an important person in American aviation history was from Rockford?!
The Impressive Life Of Bessica Faith Medlar
To say Bessica Medlar, also known as Bessie Raiche, lived an impressive life is an understatement.
After graduating from Rockford High School in 1894, she went to France to study painting. Then in 1900 she started attending Tufts Medical School, and in 1904 she opened her own general practice in Massachusetts under the name Faith C. Medlar, M.D., and shortly after that she married her husband, François “Frank” Raiche…