Learning Center Our Enshrinees

Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock

• Born in Newark, Ohio, in 1925, Mock developed an itch for aviation at a young age. Citing her father as the primary contributor to her passions. She would be one of the first female students to study aeronautical engineering at The Ohio State University.
• Began her flight career later in life during her mid-30s; she quickly was given the nickname “The Flying Housewife.”
• The first woman to fly solo, as the pilot in command, around the globe. In her Cessna 180, she named the “Spirit of Columbus.” The journey began in Columbus, Ohio, at Port Columbus airfield and ended in Columbus, Ohio, after 29 days of flying.
• Mock almost missed the title “First woman to fly around the world solo.” Joan Merriam Smith had taken off two days before Mock, Merriam flying the same planned route Amelia Earhart had taken in 1937.
• Obtained the world record of “First woman to fly around the world in a single-engine aircraft.” Including “First woman to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.”