111st birthday of Cornelius Coffey

(Born 6 September 1903, Newport, Arkansas, US)

Firm, determined, resilient, self-taught aviator after admission rejections from flying schools because he is African America, founder of Chicago’s Coffee aeronautical school (1938) which soon becomes part of the country’s civilian pilot training programme and trains many African American pilots and technicians who later  pursue careers in both civil aviation and the military, continues flying well into his 80s

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