Jerrie Mock

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie." The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio. It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes, with 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km). The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight. Although they were not in direct competition with each other, media coverage soon began tracking the progress of each pilot, fascinated with who would complete the journey first. Mock was the first to finish. The story of this race is told in a book written by Taylor Phillips entitled, Queen of the Clouds; Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock's Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World (2023). Jerrie Mock was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1965. In 1970 she published the story of her round-the-world flight in the book Three-Eight Charlie. While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos. Three-Eight Charlie is a reference to the call sign, N1538C, of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Mock used to fly around the world. Before her death, Mock, mother of three children, resided in Quincy, Florida; northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee.

22 November 1925

Born on the same birth date (22 November 1925): Gunther Schuller

Born on the same birth day (22 November): Arthur Hiller • Bart Veldkamp • Chris Fryar • Jay Payton • Lee Guetterman • Mackenzie Lintz • Mandy Minella • Steven Van Zandt • Tom Conti • Tom Elliott (radio personality) • Wilhelm Friedemann Bach • Yvan Cournoyer

Born in the same month (November 1925): Alistair Horne • Bill Gates Sr. • Derroll Adams • Doris Roberts • Gigi Gryce • Gregorio Conrado Álvarez • James Mellaart • John Guillermin • John Maddox • Jonathan Winters • Nobel Prize in Physics • Richard Burton • Rock Hudson • Stirling Colgate • Veljko Kadijević • William F. Buckley Jr.