Geraldine 'Jerrie' Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, is dead at 88

Geraldine &#039;Jerrie&#039; Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, is dead at 88

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last updated 8 January 2015

Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Quincy, Florida. She was 88.

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She started planning for her flight in 1962, making modifications to her Cessna by adding three extra fuel tanks, special radios, and an autopilot system. She took off in March 1964, and over the course of her 23,000-mile journey had ice on the wings, burning wires in the cockpit, and accidentally landed on a military base in Egypt. She arrived back in Columbus, Ohio, on April 17 to thousands of cheering fans, and was invited to the White House to meet with President Lyndon B. Johnson. She eventually quit flying due to the high cost, but said she never gave up her passion for aviation.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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