07/15/2025
On June 21, 1913, a 20 year old woman named Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick made history above the skies of Los Angeles when she became the first woman to parachute from an airplane, leaping from a Martin T plane at an altitude of 2,000 feet.
Tiny earned her nickname due to her small stature—she stood just 4 feet tall and weighed less than 80 pounds. By age 15, she was already performing as a parachutist with a carnival, making jumps from hot air balloons.
Tiny’s contributions to aviation extended beyond her record-setting jump. During World War I, the U.S. Army sought her expertise to test parachutes for military use.
In 1914, at San Diego’s North Island, Tiny was tasked with demonstrating jumps from a military plane. She completed three successful descents, but her fourth jump nearly ended in disaster. As she leapt from the aircraft, her static line—the cord designed to automatically deploy the parachute—became tangled in the plane’s tail assembly. With remarkable presence of mind, Tiny cut the line and plummeted toward the ground. Grasping the short remaining cord, she manually pulled it, opening her parachute and landing safely.This quick-thinking act inadvertently demonstrated the first-ever use of a ripcord, a critical innovation that proved parachutes could be manually deployed without a static line.
Tiny’s accidental invention paved the way for the development of modern backpack parachutes, which became essential for pilots and soldiers. Tiny continued performing and testing parachutes throughout her career, making over 1,000 jumps and contributing to advancements in parachute technology. Her demonstrations helped convince the military of the practicality of parachutes, which were initially viewed with skepticism. By the time she retired in the 1920s, Tiny had left an indelible mark on aviation history.
Today, we honor Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick, a fearless pioneer whose courage and ingenuity changed the skies forever. Share this incredible story to celebrate her legacy!
