Ellen Church was a pilot and a nurse. She sought a pilot job with United Airlines (then Boeing Air Transport) but got nowhere. Then she suggested the airline hire traveling nurses, helping to ease the fear of flying people had so early on in aviation.

She was hired in 1930 as head stewardess and she then hired seven other women on a three month trial basis. They formed the ‘original eight’ of what would become flight attendants.

Job requirements included that women needed to be:

• registered nurses
  
• less than 25 years old
  
• under 115 pounds
  
• not taller than 5’4″
  
• and single

The job wasn’t just tending to passengers but also included baggage handling and helping pilots push planes into hangars (at 5’4″ and just 115 pounds!).

Church’s first flight – 90 years ago today on May 15, 1930 – was a 20 hour trek in a Boeing 80A departing Oakland for Chicago making 13 stops. Her airline career though ended after just 18 months when she suffered a car accident.

Ellen Church Field in Cresco, Iowa is named in her honor.