Jean Hixson
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{short description|American aviator (1922–1984)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jean Hixson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|09|30}}
| birth_place = Hoopeston, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|1984|09|21|1922|09|30}}}}
| death_place = Akron, Ohio, U.S.
| module = {{infobox military person
|embed=yes
|branch=United States Air Force Reserve
|rank=Colonel
}}
}}
Jean Hixson (September 30, 1922 – September 21, 1984) was an American aviator, a Women Airforce Service Pilot and part of the Mercury 13. She was also the second woman to exceed Mach One.
Early life
Jean Hixson was born in Hoopeston, Illinois.{{Cite web|last=Endres|first=Kathleen L.|date=September 11, 2013|title=Jean Hixson, 1922–1984|url=https://blogs.uakron.edu/womenshistory/2013/09/11/jean-hixson-1922-1984/|access-date=March 3, 2018|website=Akron Women's History|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Starzyk|first=Edith|date=March 14, 2011|title=Akron teacher, pilot Jean Hixson joined pioneering group of women: Women's History Month|url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/akron_teacher_pilot_jean_hixso.html|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=cleveland.com|language=en}} Hixson began taking flying lessons at age 16 and was able to get her pilot's license by the age of 18. After Hixson received her license, she began to train with the Women's Air force Service Pilots (WASP). During World War II Hixson flew B-25 Mitchells as an engineering test pilot. After the war, she became a flight instructor in Akron, Ohio. After hours, she attended Akron University and received a degree in Elementary and Secondary Education.
In 1957 Hixson also became the second woman to exceed the speed of sound, in a Lockheed F-94C Starfire flying at over {{Convert|840|mph}}.{{Cite news|last=Wlegand|first=Virginia|date=September 23, 1984|title=Jean Hixson, flier, former teacher, dies|page=B5|work=The Akron Beacon Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18538522/the-akron-beacon-journal/|access-date=July 12, 2021}}
Mercury 13
The Mercury 13 was a group of women who underwent training in 1959 to train for mission Mercury. Hixson was a member of this group.{{Cite web|last=Madrigal|first=Alexis C.|date=July 24, 2012|title=The Women Who Would Have Been Sally Ride|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/the-women-who-would-have-been-sally-ride/260246/|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=The Atlantic|language=en}}
Life after Mercury 13
After testing in the Mercury 13 program, Hixson went to work at the Flight Simulator Techniques branch of the USAF Reserve at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.{{Cite web|last=Hallonquist|first=Al|title=Jean Hixson|url=http://mercury13.com/jean.htm|website=Mercury 13 – the women of the Mercury Era|access-date=March 22, 2018|archive-date=June 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623043517/https://www.mercury13.com/jean.htm|url-status=dead}}
In 1982, she retired from the Air Force Reserves as a colonel, and that same year chaired a WASP reunion.
In 1983, she completed 30 years of service with the Akron, Ohio school system.
Hixson died of cancer at age 61 on September 21, 1984.{{Cite web|title=Biographies of Astronaut and Cosmonaut Candidates: Jean Hixson|url=http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/candidates/english/hixson_jean.htm|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=Space Facts}}
See also
References
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{{Mercury 13}}
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Category:Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel