Pilot. She was the second of two daughters to Lt. Col. William "Harvey" Cobb and Helena Butler (Stone) Cobb. At age 28 she was one of thirteen women subjected to the Mercury astronaut selection process and the only one to pass all tests. She was a candidate to be the first US female astronaut in 1961 but congressional testimony held in 1962 and NASA's policy prevented her selection. In 1973, President Nixon awarded her the Harmon Trophy, naming her “the top woman pilot in the world.” Her work flying humanitarian missions in the Amazon jungle earned her a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1981. She was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012.
Pilot. She was the second of two daughters to Lt. Col. William "Harvey" Cobb and Helena Butler (Stone) Cobb. At age 28 she was one of thirteen women subjected to the Mercury astronaut selection process and the only one to pass all tests. She was a candidate to be the first US female astronaut in 1961 but congressional testimony held in 1962 and NASA's policy prevented her selection. In 1973, President Nixon awarded her the Harmon Trophy, naming her “the top woman pilot in the world.” Her work flying humanitarian missions in the Amazon jungle earned her a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1981. She was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012.
