Bessie Coleman was the first African-American woman, and also the first woman of Native-American descent, to hold a pilot’s license. Coleman grew up in a cruel world of poverty and discrimination.

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 30, according to the Tribune’s archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National ...

Bessie Coleman made the last payment on her new airplane and arranged for the second-hand Jenny to be flown to Jacksonville, Florida, site of her next air show. “Brave Bessie” was born in 1893 less ...