Roanoke, Virginia

Inducted in 1989, Louise M. Thaden was one of the most famous women in aviation in the 1920s and 30s. She set numerous world records including the 1928 altitude record (20,260 feet), a solo-endurance flight record in 1920 of over 22 hours, and the light plane speed record of 1934. In 1932 Thaden and Frances Marsada used primitive air-to-air refueling technologies to set a record of 166 hours aloft. She won a number of air races including the First Women’s Air Derby in 1929 and the Bendix Transcontinental Air Race in 1936. While a resident of Virginia, Thaden was instrumental in developing the Civil Air Patrol and served as director of the Cadets of the Virginia Wing.