Katherine Stinson (February 14, 1891 – July 8, 1977) was an American aviation pioneer who, in 1912, became the fourth woman in the United States to earn the FAI pilot certificate. She set flying records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, and endurance. She was the first female pilot employed by the U.S. Postal Service and the first civilian pilot to fly the mail in Canada. She was also one of the first pilots to ever fly at night and the first female pilot to fly in Canada and Japan. Early life and flight training Stinson was born on February 14, 1891, at Fort Payne, Alabama to Edward Sr. and Emma Stinson. Edward Sr. left the family, leaving Emma alone to raise Stinson and her younger siblings Edward Jr., Marjorie, and John (Jack). Emma moved the family to Jackson, Mississippi, where Stinson attended high school. She excelled at music and dreamed of being a concert pianist. After she graduated from high school, the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Stinson learned to drive the family flivver at the age of 14. In 1911, she took her first flight aloft in a hot-air balloon in Kansas City. Smitten by the flying bug, Stinson sold her piano to help pay for flying lessons. Stinson went to St. Louis to take flight lessons from Tony Jannus, who allowed her to fly only as a passenger. She then took flying lessons from the well-known aviator Max Lillie, a pilot for the Wright Brothers, who initially refused to teach her because she was female. However, Stinson was able to solo the Wright B, after only four hours of instruction, on July 13, 1912, at Cicero Field. She was the fourth woman in the United States to obtain a pilot's certificate, which she earned on July 24, 1912, at the age of 21. Stunt flying and world records After she received her certificate, Stinson returned to the family farm in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Stinson and her mother, Emma, incorporated the Stinson Aviation Company in April 1913 to "manufacture, sell, rent, and otherwise engage in the aircraft trade." In May, Stinson bought a Wright B from Lillie. In July, she flew at Cincinnati's Coney Island Park, and then Columbus, Indiana in August. She then carried the first airmail at the Helena State Fair, flew at the Illinois State Fair, then El Paso, Helena, Arkansas, New Orleans, and Beaumont, Texas.