#Charles Broadwick

[oscarwetnwilde]

James Wilby in "unsavory character roles" in gif form.

James McCready in Trials and Retribution IV The Dis-Honorable Freddie Nesbitt in Gosford Park. Edward Milton in Midsomer Murders: Made To Measure Hugh Mallory in Lewis: Expiation. Charles Broadwick in Ripper Street: Dynamite & A Woman Archie Grayling in Casualty. Charles Wilcox in Howards End. Charles Ridley in Strike Back. Sefton Scott in Father Brown: The Cat of Mastigatus

[sethshead]

"Georgia Ann Thompson, the first female parachutist and inventor of the rip cord, became famous under the name Tiny Broadwick. She weighed only three pounds at birth in 1893 in North Carolina, and never grew past 5 feet tall and 80 pounds. She married at 12, and bore a daughter, Verla, at 13. After her husband died in an accident, she had to work 14-hour days in a cotton mill.

"'In 1907 at the North Carolina State Fair, Georgia saw the performance, 'The Broadwicks and their Famous French Aeronauts.' The performers ascended to the sky in hot-air balloons, then thrilled spectators by jumping out of them with parachutes. Inspired by this, Georgia asked show owner Charles Broadwick if she could travel with the group and become a part of the act. He agreed to hire her, and Georgia’s mother let her go with a few stipulations- she had to leave Verla behind and send back money to help support her. Broadwick trained her in the art of parachute jumping, and in 1908, legally adopted her. When this happened, Georgia’s name officially became Tiny Broadwick.

"'While performing, Tiny was known as 'The Doll Girl'. She dressed in ruffled bloomers with pink bows on her arms, ribbons in her long curly hair, and a bonnet on her head. Tiny was just 15 years old when she jumped from a hot-air balloon at the 1908 North Carolina State Fair. Describing her feelings later, she said, 'I tell you, honey, it was the most wonderful sensation in the world!' It was a thrill she would come to experience some 1,000 times in her life.

"'Tiny and Charles Broadwick traveled all over the country with their balloon act, but by 1912, their performance was losing popularity. Fortunately, a new opportunity presented itself to Tiny when she met famed pilot Glenn Martin. He had seen her jump from a balloon, and asked if she would like to parachute from his airplane instead. Tiny immediately agreed to work for Martin, whose aircraft company is still in business today and is operating under the name Martin Marietta.

"'In preparation for the jump, Charles Broadwick developed a parachute for Tiny made of silk. It was packed into a knapsack attached to a canvas jacket with harness straps. A string was fastened to the plane’s fuselage and woven through the parachute’s canvas covering. When Tiny jumped from the plane, the cover tore away and her parachute filled with air.

"'On her first jump, Tiny was suspended from a trap seat behind the wing and outside the cockpit, with the parachute on a shelf above her. Martin took the plane up to two thousand feet, and then Tiny released a lever alongside the seat, allowing it to drop out from under her. The jump was a success and she landed in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, making her the first woman to parachute from an airplane. After that first jump from Martin’s plane, Tiny was in great demand all over the country. She also became the first woman to parachute into a body of water.

"'In 1914, at the start of WWI, representatives of the Army Air Corps visited Tiny in San Diego and asked her to demonstrate a jump from a military plane. At that time, many Air Corps pilots had already perished, and the Army wanted Tiny to showcase how to safely parachute out of a plane. During the demonstration, Tiny made four jumps at San Diego’s North Island.

"'The first three went smoothly, but on the fourth jump, her parachute’s line became tangled in the tail assembly of the plane. Due to high winds, she could not get back into the plane. Instead of panicking, Tiny cut all but a short length of the line, which made her plummet towards the ground. Still keeping a cool head, she pulled the line by hand, freeing the parachute to open by itself. This demonstrated what would be known as the rip cord, and showcased that someone who had to leave an airplane in flight did not need a line attached to the aircraft to open a parachute. A pilot could safely bail out of a damaged craft. Following this, the parachute became known as the life preserver of the air.

"'Tiny Broadwick’s last jump was in 1922, when she was just 29 years old. Chronic problems with her ankles forced her into retirement. [All those forceful landings took their toll!] She stated at the time, 'I breathe so much better up there, and it’s so peaceful being that near to God.'

"'Tiny received many honors and awards in her lifetime, including the U.S. Government Pioneer Aviation award and the John Glenn Medal. She is one of the few women in the Early Birds of Aviation, and she also received the Gold Wings of the Adventurer’s Club in Los Angeles. In 1964, Tiny was made an honorary member of the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg. With that honor, she was told she could jump any time she chose. At the age of 85, Tiny Broadwick died and was buried in her home state of North Carolina.'

"Shown: Tiny Broadwick seated in a sling hanging from the side of Glenn Martin’s plane, 1913. Thanks to Daniella Wild for calling my attention to her!"

h/t Suppressed Histories Archives

[formeroklahoman]

On June 21, 1913, Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to jump from an airplane. Remembered as the “First Lady of Parachuting,” Broadwick still holds a place in The Guinness Book of World Records for her achievements as a parachutist. Born Georgia Ann Thompson in Oxford, Broadwick was married at 12, a mother at 13 and abandoned by her husband soon thereafter. After attending a carnival in Raleigh and seeing Charles Broadwick parachute from a balloon, Georgia joined his “World Famous Aeronauts.” Soon after, she became Broadwick’s adopted daughter.

At just over four feet tall, Georgia was nicknamed “Tiny.” She thrilled audiences by jumping from a swing attached to a balloon. As the novelty wore off for crowds, the Broadwicks moved their act to flying machines.

After her first jump in 1913, Tiny demonstrated Charles’s pack parachute for Army officials in 1914. They were impressed with what they called the “life preserver of the air.” Tiny retired from parachuting in 1922, after completing more than 1,100 jumps.

She is the only female member of the Early Birds of Aviation, and her parachutes are housed at the North Carolina Museum of History and the Smithsonian Institution. #womenshistorymonth

[taraross-1787]

This Day in History: Tiny Broadwick, aviation pioneer

On this day in 1893, a future aviation heroine is born. Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick has been called the “First Lady of Parachuting.”

Tiny grew up on a farm, the youngest of seven children. Life was hard, and there wasn’t much money. Tiny got married when she was 12 and had a baby at 13. Soon afterwards, her husband abandoned her. Tiny was left alone, with only a low-paying job at the local cotton mill.

Fortunately, fate intervened: A traveling carnival came through town. Tiny watched The Broadwicks and their Famous French Aeronauts in astonishment. Its star, Charles Broadwick, traveled up in a hot-air balloon, then parachuted back to earth.

“I wanted to join them,” Tiny later said. “I was hell-bound and determined to get in that act!” She waited for the aeronauts after the show and convinced them to take her on. Her small size was a benefit—and her gender didn’t hurt, either. A pretty female stuntwoman was always a draw.

Tiny had little choice but to leave her baby with her parents, promising to send money for the baby’s support. In the meantime, Charles legally adopted Tiny because it was otherwise considered socially improper for her to travel alone with a man.

Tiny made her first jump when she was just 15 years old.

The story continues at the link in the comments. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

[tigermike]

On this day in 1893, a future aviation heroine is born. Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick has been called the “First Lady of Parachuting.”

Tiny grew up on a farm, the youngest of seven children. Life was hard, and there wasn’t much money. Tiny got married when she was 12 and had a baby at 13. Soon afterwards, her husband abandoned her. Tiny was left alone, with only a low-paying job at the local cotton mill.

Fortunately, fate intervened: A traveling carnival came through town. Tiny watched "The Broadwicks and their Famous French Aeronauts" in astonishment. Its star, Charles Broadwick, traveled up in a hot-air balloon, then parachuted back to earth.

“I wanted to join them,” Tiny later said. “I was hell-bound and determined to get in that act!” She waited for the aeronauts after the show and convinced them to take her on. Her small size was a benefit—and her gender didn’t hurt, either. A pretty female stuntwoman was always a draw.

Tiny had little choice but to leave her baby with her parents, promising to send money for the baby’s support. In the meantime, Charles legally adopted Tiny because it was otherwise considered socially improper for her to travel alone with a man.

Tiny made her first jump when she was just 15 years old.

Charles billed Tiny as “The Doll Girl” and had her dressed in frilly clothes. Tiny hated the costume, but she loved falling from the sky. “From up in the air I can appreciate the beauty of the earth from a new perspective and felt that I was in the presence of God,” she once said.

Audiences, of course, were spellbound.

Tiny’s jumps were mostly successful—but not always. On one occasion, she got tangled up in a windmill and some high-tension wires. Another time, she landed on the caboose of a train. Her landing on the roof of a grist mill made the news. “Unable to get a hold on the roof, she fell two stories to the ground, breaking her left arm and sustaining other injuries,” the Baltimore Sun reported.

The aeronauts spent years working with hot air balloons, but a meeting with aviator Glenn Martin in 1912 would change Tiny’s focus. Martin was then investigating the use of parachutes aboard airplanes for pilot safety. In June 1913, Tiny took to the skies with Martin and became the first woman to parachute from a plane.

“It was much easier than leaping from a balloon,” she said of the feat. “There was not so much of a strain when the parachute opened because I was dashing sideways as well as downward.”

The following year, Tiny and Martin demonstrated their parachute to U.S. Army officers. World War I was just beginning, and the military was looking to save pilots. The parachute that Tiny was using relied on a string attached to the plane’s fuselage. When Tiny jumped, the string would tear a cover off, enabling the parachute to fill with air and open.

Tiny’s first three demonstration jumps were uneventful, but her fourth took an unexpected turn: The parachute line got tangled on the plane’s tail. Tiny was dangling after the plane, unable to climb back in.

How many could keep their cool in that situation? Tiny did. She cut the line holding her to the plane, leaving a little bit of it still attached to the parachute. As Tiny fell away from the plane, she pulled the remaining piece of line manually.

She’d inadvertently created the first rip cord!

Tiny’s discovery opened a whole new world. Pilots would be able to safely eject from airplanes with their parachutes, the “life preserver of the air.”

And it was all because of a petite woman with an immense amount of bravery.

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[expo63]

James Wilby in Ripper Street, S2E4, ‘Dynamite and a Woman’ (2013), as the splendidly villainous unscrupulous electricity entrepreneur Charles Broadwick. 1 / 2