Elsie MacGill was a Canadian Aircraft Designer and the first woman in the world to do this job. In 1927, she was the first woman in Canada to gain a degree in Electrical Engineering and carried on to graduate with a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering in 1929.
By 1938 MacGill was appointed Chief Aeronautical Engineer at the Canadian Car and Foundry company and she was the first woman elected to corporate membership of the Engineering Institute of Canada.
MacGill designed a series of modifications to Hurricane aircraft during WW2 and oversaw the production line as the factory increased from 500 workers to 4500. She became known as "Queen of the Hurricanes"
MacGill's achievements were in spite of her contracting polio shortly before gaining her Masters. She was told she would never walk again but didn't accept this and was, in the end, able to walk using walking sticks.
MacGill's mother was Helen Gregory MacGill, British Columbia's first female judge.
For more on Elsie MacGill, click here or here
By 1938 MacGill was appointed Chief Aeronautical Engineer at the Canadian Car and Foundry company and she was the first woman elected to corporate membership of the Engineering Institute of Canada.
MacGill designed a series of modifications to Hurricane aircraft during WW2 and oversaw the production line as the factory increased from 500 workers to 4500. She became known as "Queen of the Hurricanes"
MacGill's achievements were in spite of her contracting polio shortly before gaining her Masters. She was told she would never walk again but didn't accept this and was, in the end, able to walk using walking sticks.
MacGill's mother was Helen Gregory MacGill, British Columbia's first female judge.
For more on Elsie MacGill, click here or here