Mary Myers

Mary Myers (1849-1932), better known during her lifetime as Carlotta, the Lady Aeronaut or Carlotta Myers was an American balloonist and inventor. She married Carl Edgar Myers in 1871 and, after he became interested in designing balloons and other airships, Myers assisted him in his work and eventually took to testing their designs herself. She made her first balloon trip in front of a crowd of 15,000 people in 1880.

Throughout the 1880s, she worked as a professional balloonist at fairs and exhibitions in the United States. She became known both for skill in handling an untethered balloon and her showmanship. In 1889, she and Carl established the Balloon Farm: a flight school and place for her and Carl to design and test new balloons. She retired from flying in exhibitions in 1891 and from the Balloon Farm in around 1910. Provided by Wikipedia