WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17: PIONEER AVIATRIX
Profile America — Wednesday, August 17th. Just about everyone knows about Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 while attempting an around the world flight. Few remember a contemporary woman pilot, Elinor Smith, was born 100 years ago today. Smith took flying lessons at the age of 10 and soloed at 15. When she was 16, she became the youngest person to hold a government pilot's license. She went on to set altitude, speed and endurance records. At the age of 19 in 1930, she was voted in a poll of licensed pilots as the best woman pilot in America. That year, there were more than 7,300 pilots in the country. Today, that number is almost 614,000, 6 percent of them women. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 417
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 772
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 1082
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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