Pilot license number four in Hungary belonged to Lilly Steinschneider, the first woman in that country to qualify as an aviator. Her career in the sky began after watching Louis Bleriot fly over Budapest in 1909, prompting a shift from her upbringing in a wealthy family that manufactured quilt covers for the House of Habsburg.
Aviation Training and Early Success
Steinschneider undertook flight training at Wiener Neustadt under instructor Karl Illner. Securing funds for her pursuit required pawning her personal jewellery to pay for a driving license, a precursor to her flight qualification. By 15 August 1912, she successfully passed her flying examination. Her proficiency was soon demonstrated in an Etrich Taube at an air show in Nagyvárad on 6 October 1912, where she performed before a crowd of 2000 spectators.
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The 1913 flight meeting at Aspern airfield served as a major public stage for her skills, where she survived a crash landing. During the same event, she flew as a passenger with Maurice Chevillard during an upside-down flight at 1000 metres. Later that year, on 20 August, she won a speed competition at the Aviation Day of Saint Stephen, completing a 2500-metre lap in 87 seconds.
Marriage and Wartime Service
In 1914, she married Johann Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi, moving to Ronsperg Castle in the Czech Republic. Following the outbreak of the First World War and the subsequent ban on civilian aviation, she served as a nurse on the Eastern front, treating patients with typhoid. She gave birth to her daughter, Marina, in 1927.
Exile and Later Years
To escape Nazi persecution related to her Jewish background, she relocated with her daughter to Italy in 1939. Her marriage faced severe strain due to these circumstances, leading to a formal separation statement from her husband in 1943, followed by a divorce in 1960. She spent her final years in southern France before her death in Nice on 28 March 1975.
Fast facts
- Born: 13 January 1891, Budapest
- Died: 28 March 1975, Nice
- Occupation: Aircraft pilot
- Flight Instructor: Karl Illner
- Aircraft Flown: Etrich Taube
- Hungarian Pilot License: Number 4
Questions readers ask
Was Lilly Steinschneider the first female pilot in the Austro-Hungarian empire?
No, she was the second woman to qualify, preceded by the aviator Božena Laglerová.
How did she commemorate her flying qualification?
She commissioned a brooch shaped like an aeroplane that displayed the date of her achievement, 15 August 1912.
Achievements
- Worked as aircraft pilot