# Edith Clark

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{{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](/source/H%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne_Boucher) at an aviation event in [Vincennes](/source/Vincennes) in 1934
| othername          = 
| birth_name         = Édith Georgette Valentine Boiteux
| birth_date         = 15 June 1904
| birth_place        = [Cuffy](/source/Cuffy%2C_Cher), France
| death_date         = 16 March 1937
| death_place        = [Avignon](/source/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](/source/Cuffy%2C_Cher), 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](/source/Bucharest), and from the roof of the [Cirque d'Hiver](/source/Cirque_d'hiver) in Paris, which was only {{Convert|15|m}} above the ground.<ref name=":2" />

In 1926, Clark joined a [Freemasons Lodge](/source/Freemasonry) 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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Meaux); however, her remains were later transferred to [Nevers](/source/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}}

{{Authority control}}

{{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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edith Clark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Clark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Clark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.