Inspirational Quotes by Beryl Markham (English-African Aviator)

Beryl Markham (1902–86,) née Clutterbuck, was an English-born Kenyan aviator, adventurer, racehorse trainer, and author. She was the first person to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic from Britain to North America.

Born in Ashwell, Rutland, England, Markham moved with her father to East Africa in 1906. She was raised on a horse farm in the Rift Valley, 100 miles upcountry from Nairobi. She grew up playing with Murani children and learning Masai and Swahili. She apprenticed with her father as a horse trainer and breeder until he left Africa for Peru in 1919. She chose to stay in her adopted homeland and subsequently turned to aviation. As a bush pilot, she pioneered the practice of spotting big game from the air for safari hunters.

From 1931 to 1936, Markham carried mail, passengers, and supplies in her small plane to remote corners of Africa, including Sudan, Tanganyika (now Tanzania,) Kenya, and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe.) In 1936, she became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west, “the hard way,” taking off in England and crash-landing in Nova Scotia 21 hours and 25 minutes later.

Markham’s best-selling autobiography, West with the Night (1942,) reflects on Africa and flying.

More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Beryl Markham