{{Short description|French aviator and parachutist}} {{about|the French aviator|the British philanthropist|Edith Dixon}} {{Infobox person | name = Edith Georgette Clark | image = Vincennes - meeting d'aviation - (...)Agence de btv1b90454485.jpg | caption = Edith Clark (left) and Hélène Boucher at an aviation event in Vincennes in 1934 | othername = | birth_name = Édith Georgette Valentine Boiteux | birth_date = 15 June 1904 | birth_place = Cuffy, France | death_date = 16 March 1937 | death_place = Avignon, France | burial_place = | occupation = Aviator and parachutist }}
'''Edith Georgette Clark''' (also known as '''Edith Boiteux''', 15 June 1904 – 16 March 1937) was a French aviator and parachutist.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://data.bnf.fr/16161537/edith_clark/#|title=Edith Clark (1905-1937) - Author - Resources from the BnF|website=data.bnf.fr|language=en|access-date=2017-01-22}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.janinetissot.fdaf.org/jt_clark.htm|title=Edith CLARK|website=www.janinetissot.fdaf.org|access-date=2017-01-22}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://paras-pth.forumactif.com/t4051-edith-clark|title=Edith Clark|newspaper=paras-pth.forumactif.com|language=fr|access-date=2017-01-22}}</ref>
== Biography == Clark was born in Cuffy, in the Cher region of France, on 15 June 1904. She worked as a typist and became interested in aviation; however, she could not afford the expenses of flying lessons on her salary. Instead, she started parachuting and earned money testing different types of military parachutes.<ref name=":0" /> She also aimed to set a record for jumping from the lowest permitted altitude, and performed stunts such as jumping from the top of a {{Convert|20|m|adj=on}} fire engine ladder in Bucharest, and from the roof of the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, which was only {{Convert|15|m}} above the ground.<ref name=":2" />
In 1926, Clark joined a Freemasons Lodge in Paris, and became the secretary of the lodge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://brest-loge-pleias.com/femmes-francs-maconnes.html|title=Les femmes qui ont fait la franc-maçonnerie|website=brest-loge-pleias.com|access-date=2017-01-23|archive-date=2017-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202092102/http://brest-loge-pleias.com/femmes-francs-maconnes.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Clark accompanied Madeleine Charnaux in her attempts to break altitude records, and on 29 January 1935 she was a passenger when Charnaux flew to {{Convert|6,115|m}}, the altitude record for light aircraft.<ref name=":0" />
In 1936, when the French parachutist permit had just been created, Clark was the first woman to obtain it from the Ministry of Air, which allowed her to officially become a professional parachutist.<ref name=":2" />
Clark died in a parachuting accident on 16 March 1937 at the Avignon-Pujaut Military Training Center in Avignon.<ref name=":1" /> She had carried out two successful test jumps with a new model of Air Force parachute, when she jumped from a height of {{Convert|500|m}} and the parachute did not open. Despite the belated attempt to open her reserve parachute, she crashed to the ground and died on impact. It was her 200th parachute jump.<ref name=":0" />
Clark's funeral was held in Paris, at the Sainte-Geneviève des Grandes-Carrières church, and she was initially buried in Meaux; however, her remains were later transferred to Nevers.<ref name=":0" /> The Ministry of Air gave Clark a posthumous citation recognising her bravery for the Ordre de la nation (Order of the Nation).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://mairiecuffy.free.fr/principal/article.php?catid=71|title=Les articles|website=mairiecuffy.free.fr|access-date=2017-01-23}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Edith}} Category:1904 births Category:1937 deaths Category:French Freemasons Category:French aviation pioneers Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Category:French women aviators Category:French skydivers Category:Parachuting deaths Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1937 Category:20th-century French women