1893-1978 |
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in the San Diego area, 1913 From Jackrabbits to Jets |
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Coatpack type, first jumped by her in 1913 |
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Sacred Concert at Hotel Imperial Corner by Johnny Jones Band This Afternoon," Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 15, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 |
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Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 19, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 She left the earth with, "Oh, you comet," and was soon a mere speck against the sky. When those watching her could see nothing but the large balloon and a dot training far below, she leaped and descended in a parachute. She alighted in the top of a tree on Fouche street and the balloon fell on East Jackson avenue. Miss Tina made her way back to the show grounds and will make another ascension this afternoon about two o'clock. In falling through the limbs of the tree, she sustained several scratches." |
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Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 20, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 |
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Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 21, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 |
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Her Left Arm Broken and She Sustained Other Painful Injuries," Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 28, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 Bristol, Tenn., May 27. - 'Tiny' Broadwick, the fourteen-year-old girl aeronaut, who was making daily ascensions during the carnival week here, dropping from three parachutes, descended upon the roof of a grist mill this afternoon and being unable to get a hold on the roof, fell two stories, breaking her left arm near the elbow and sustaining other injuries. She was hurried to the hospital. This little aerial artist made several ascensions in Knoxville during the week May 16-21 when she appeared here with the Johnny Jones carnival company under the auspices of the police relief association. Her act was a very daring one and she had at least one narrow escape from serious injury during her engagement here." |
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The Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 29, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 In the absence of the child aeronaut, who was injured in descending Friday, her father, Charles Broaderick, made the balloon ascension here this afternoon. The breeze being insufficient to carry him out of the city, he came down in the business center saving his life only by an apparently superhuman leap from the trapeze, landing on the roof of a three-story building, as the parachute collapsed in a network of wires. He escaped injury." |
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Demonstrating Merits of New Aerial Life Preserver," The Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: January 10, 1914, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 8-10-04 One of two women passengers carried today by Glenn Martin the aviator, stepped from his machine when it was 850 feet in the air. She reached the ground safely and demonstrated to Martin's satisfaction the practicability of a new aerial life preserver. Spectators saw the girl, Miss Tiny Broadwick, fall 75 feet like a shot. Then a parachute attachment on her shoulders unfolded and she descended gradually and with no apparent effort at balance." |
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By proclamation of the mayor, Carroll V. Singleton, that day was designated to honor a Lady Early Bird, Mrs.Tiny Broadwick Brown, who was a pioneer in aviation fields through the use of the parachute. The day was climaxed by an evening program honoring Mrs. Brown sponsored by the North Carolina Civil Air Patrol Group VII and the Henderson CAP squadron. A native of Henderson, she now lives in California. A plaque in recognition of her early exploits in the field of aviation parachuting was presented the honored guest. Inscribed on the plaque is the following: "Presented to Tiny Broadwick by Commander, Group VII and Staff and Henderson Squadron, Civil Air patrol; known for her contribution to the developement of aviation and her accomplishments with the parachute; she will rank with the pioneers in the field of early aviation. Henderson, N. C., jan. 20, 1961" Tiny began her aerial work in 1908 under the coaching of her foster father, Charles Broadwick, when she started parachuting from a hot air baloon. In 1913 she went aloft from Griffith Park in a biplane piloted by Glenn L. Martin and at the height of 2,000 feet released herself from a trap seat. Also during that year, she became the first person to begin a parachute flight from a seat in front of an airplane on a level with the propeller. She proved the success of the aerial invention of her foster father to the U. S. Government in 1914 at San Diego, California. The feat was witnessed by Gen. George F. Scriven, chief of the aviation bureau of the U. S. Army. Those who saw the jump declared that she had inaugurated a new epoch toward safety in the navigation of the air. During 1915, Tiny was an exhibition jumper at the San Diego fair. The record of Mrs. Brown in aviation history was summarized by Henderson Mayor Singleton when he proclaimed Tiny Broadwick Day to "honor this native daughter for her outstanding achievements in the field of aviation and to commemorate her efforts in the advancement of aerial safety which made such a significant contribution to the field of aviation." March, 1961, Number 65 |
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Special awards and honors were presented from: Survival and Flight Equipment Association by Bob Snider, President. OX5 Club by Harlan A. Gurney, President, Southern California Wing. The Early Birds of Aviation, Inc. by Forrest E. Wysong, Secretary. United States Parachute Association by Norman Heaton, Executive Director. This was followed by a question and answer period in which "Tiny" charmed the audience with her naive, and sometimes surprising answers. In closing, Al Adams, President of the Adventurers' Club called attention to the I'VE GOT A SECRET program, December 19th, 1972 on which Miss Broadwick was to be guest. March, 1973, Number 79 |
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via email from Charles Blackburn, 11-15-07 Ralph; I thought you might like this update on Tiny Broadwick. In 2006, the Vance County Commissioners voted to name a portion of the new Western Loop highway, just west of the Henderson, N.C., city limits, after her. It is called Tiny Broadwick Boulevard and is not far from where she is buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens. Best wishes, Charles Blackburn Vance County Historical Society |
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In April 1915, he received a letter offering him an attractive salary working for General Pancho Villa. Villa was known to some as a "Bandit", to others as a revolutionary leader and popular Mexican hero. |
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If time is available, you will be rewarded by visiting the homepage and sampling the other sections such as Timeline, Pioneers, Accounts, Centennial and resources. Among the pioneers you will find biographies of other aviators, some familiar, some unfamiliar, all of them interesting. Many of their stories are illustrated with priceless photographs from the North Carolina State Archive. To access the homepage, just click on the name of the website, |
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The First Lady of Parachuting North Carolina was the site of the first powered ariplane flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903. Only ten years later, the state could also claim the first parachute jump by a woman, Tiny Broadwick. This fascinating biography follows Tiny as the joins a carnival and travels the entire country parachuting from airplanes and hot air balloonhs. Elizabeth Roberson teaches United States history and Western civilization at Martin Community College and East Carolina University in North Carolina. PELICAN 1000 Burmester Street Gretna, Lousiana 70053 |  |
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Recommended Further Reading: JACKRABBITS TO JETS: The History of North Island, San Diego, California by Elretta Sudsbury Hall & Ojena Publications |
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RECEIVES STATE HISTORICAL MARKER Announcement from Vance County Historical Society Courtesy of Charles Blackburn, 6-17-04 From 1908 to 1922, Broadwick made more than 1,100 parachute jumps from hot air balloons and airplanes, thrilling audiences at fairgrounds all across America and earning herself a place in aviation history. On June 21, 1913, she became the first woman ever to parachute from an airplane, a feat that landed her in the Guinness Book of World Records. She also helped usher in a new era in aviation safety by demonstrating a parachute to the U.S. Army in 1914. Other career highlights included the first free-fall jump ever made by anyone and first woman to parachute into water, when she floated down into cold Lake Michigan--on purpose. Broadwick is considered one of the founders of modern sport parachuting. Her parachutes are in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Following the marker ceremony, biographer Elizabeth Whitley Roberson of Williamston will give a brief program at the Wildflower Cafe, 200 S. Garnett St. downtown, and sign copies of her book, Tiny Broadwick: The First Lady of Parachuting (Pelican Publishing, 2002). A reception follows. All events are free and open to the public. In the event of rain, the entire program will take place at the Wildflower Cafe. The unveiling ceremony will include remarks by Henderson Mayor Donald Seifert, Jr.; Vance County Historical Society President George T. Blackburn, II; and Michael Hill, Research Supervisor, N.C. Archives & History. Broadwick family members will unveil the marker. Born Georgia Ann Thompson on a Granville County farm in 1893, Tiny was the youngest of seven girls and weighed only three pounds at birth, giving rise to her nickname. Falling crop prices forced the family to move to Henderson, in neighboring Vance County, where there was work in the cotton mill. At the age of 15, Georgia saw Charles Broadwick's World Famous Aeronauts parachute from a hot air balloon at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh. With her mother's permission, she soon joined the traveling show and quickly became the sweetheart of crowds all across the country. "I tell you, honey, it was the most wonderful sensation in the world," she later said of her first jump. "I don't think I was scared, but I was nervous." For the sake of decorum, Broadwick adopted her as his daughter. In 1913, pioneering aviator Glenn L. Martin took Tiny up in his biplane over Griffith Park in Los Angeles, where, at a height of 2,000 feet, she released herself from a trap seat, becoming the first woman ever to parachute from an airplane. Not until late in life was she honored for her accomplishments. Broadwick became the darling of the Early Birds Club, a legendary group of aviators who flew prior to 1916. In 1961, Henderson Mayor Carroll V. Singleton proclaimed Tiny Broadwick Day in her honor, and three years later, N.C. Gov. Terry Sanford did the same on a statewide basis. The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles held a "Tiny Broadwick Night" in 1972, and Broadwick Street in that city was named for her. Also that same year, her grandmotherly looks helped her stump the panelists on the TV game show I've Got A Secret. Her final years were spent traveling to aviation conventions and visiting family back in her hometown. She died in 1978. This is the 13th state highway historical marker to be placed in Vance County and the first since 1989, when one was erected on N.C. 39 south of Williamsboro to honor Mary L. Wyche (1858-1936), founder of the N.C. Nurses' Association. More than 1,400 historical markers have been erected along N.C. highways since 1936. |
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If you have any more information on this Early Bird, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper Back 
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