Susana Ferrari Billinghurst


Susana Ferrari Billinghurst was an Argentine aviator who was the first woman in South America to earn a commercial pilot's license, in 1937.

Career

In 1937, Billinghurst became the first woman in South America to earn a commercial pilot's license. In 1940, she piloted an amphibious Sikorsky S-43 in a 4,000-mile trip from Panama to Argentina.
During the 1943 Revolution Day in Argentina, she entered the presidential house with a symbolic bouquet, getting from the new president a historical engagement in favour of women's rights, particularly in the aviation field.
In November 1943, she made a flight to Uruguay with two other aviators, officially representing the Argentine government.

Family

Billinghurst was of Italian, English, and Irish descent. She was the great-granddaughter of Mariano Billinghurst, for whom the city of Billinghurst, Argentina, is named; niece of Argentine aviator Lisandro Billinghurst, and first cousin twice removed of Guillermo Billinghurst, who was the president of Peru. Susana was the grandmother of actress Luciana Pedraza, the wife of actor Robert Duvall.