Marie Marvingt

Who was Marie Marvingt?

Marie Marvingt was a French athlete, mountaineer, aviator and journalist. She won numerous prizes for her sporting achievements including those of swimming, cycling, mountain climbing, winter sports, ballooning, flying, riding, gymnastics, athletics, rifle shooting and fencing. She was the first woman to climb many of the peaks in the French and Swiss Alps. She was a record-breaking balloonist, a pioneering aviator and during World War I became the first woman to fly combat missions as a bomber pilot. She was also a qualified surgical nurse, was the first trained and certified Flight Nurse in the world, and worked for the establishment of air ambulance services throughout the world. According to a French source, it was M. de Château-Thierry de Beaumanoir who, in 1903, named Marie Marvingt as “La fiancée du danger.” She herself used the epithet for an autobiographical publication in 1948. It is also included on the commemorative plaque on the façade of the house where she lived at 8 Place de la Carrière, Nancy.