Marie Félicie Élisabeth Marvingt was born on February 20, 1875 in Aurillac, a town located in the
south of France. Prior to her birth, her parents, the postal worker Félix Marvingt and his wife
Élisabeth, had already lost three sons, and her younger brother Eugène also remained sickly
throughout his life.
The family lived in Metz until 1870, but left the city due to the German occupation and did not
return for a decade. In Metz, Marie Marvingt attended the private school Sainte-Chrétienne and
showed a talent for sport at a very early age. This was particularly encouraged by her father, as he
was unable to share these activities with his sick son.
When she was only fourteen years old, her mother passed away and the family moved to Nancy.
Childhood and youth
Sporty allrounder
From a young age, Marie was introduced to sports by her athletic father. As a result, she showed
incredible talent in numerous sports at a very early age. Swimming, fencing, horseback riding,
skiing, mountaineering, and ice skating are just a few of the sports she took part in, making her a
universal sport talent.
At the age of eleven, she participated in cycling races and at fifteen she canoed alone for 400 kilometers from Nancy to Koblenz. At 25, she became the French shooting champion, three years later she became the first woman to climb the highest peaks in the Alps, and at thirty, she swam the length of the Seine through Paris in just four hours. At that time, she was considered the best swimmer in France.
In 1908, she aimed to participate in the Tour de France, but as a woman, this was prohibited, so she rode behind the field. As two-thirds of the male participants did not make it to the finish, she would have ended up in the top third of riders. She never lost her passion for cycling, as she covered a total of 281 kilometers from Nancy to Paris at the age of 86.
Another great passion of hers, in which she excelled, was mountaineering, which she pursued mainly between 1903 and 1910. As the first woman, she climbed the 3,096-meter-high Buet and the 4,013-meter-high Dent du Géant and climbed most of the mountains in the French and Swiss Alps.
All of this was very unusual for a woman at that time, but it never stopped her from achieving more. Her ambition and stubbornness drove her to take on more and more challenges and to go beyond herself.
At the age of eleven, she participated in cycling races and at fifteen she canoed alone for 400 kilometers from Nancy to Koblenz. At 25, she became the French shooting champion, three years later she became the first woman to climb the highest peaks in the Alps, and at thirty, she swam the length of the Seine through Paris in just four hours. At that time, she was considered the best swimmer in France.
In 1908, she aimed to participate in the Tour de France, but as a woman, this was prohibited, so she rode behind the field. As two-thirds of the male participants did not make it to the finish, she would have ended up in the top third of riders. She never lost her passion for cycling, as she covered a total of 281 kilometers from Nancy to Paris at the age of 86.
Another great passion of hers, in which she excelled, was mountaineering, which she pursued mainly between 1903 and 1910. As the first woman, she climbed the 3,096-meter-high Buet and the 4,013-meter-high Dent du Géant and climbed most of the mountains in the French and Swiss Alps.
All of this was very unusual for a woman at that time, but it never stopped her from achieving more. Her ambition and stubbornness drove her to take on more and more challenges and to go beyond herself.
Image 1: Marie Marvingt skiing in Chamonix © Archives départementales du Cantal, All rights reserved.
Image 2: On skis in the Chamonix area in 1913. Agence Rol. Agence photographique, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Abbildung 3: The two pilots Marie Marvingt and Paul Echeman on skis in 1912. La Vie au Grand Air, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Flying high
One of Marie Marvingt's great passions was flying, which she probably first discovered when she
climbed into the basket of a hot-air balloon. In a turbulent journey in 1909 over the North Sea to
England, her new hobby almost came to a sudden end as a sudden cold front and storms made
the trip difficult. But together with Émile Garnier, she managed to navigate the hot-air balloon
over the stormy waves, even though parts of the balloon froze, they had to throw off all ballast,
and the basket became waterlogged. In the end, however, they made it to England, although
Marie Marvingt was thrown out of the basket upon landing and the balloon got stuck in a tree
with her passenger.
That same year, she also met the aviation pioneer Roger Sommer, with whom she undertook her first motorized flight. Since then, she took flying lessons from French pilot Hubert Latham, who taught her to fly in a difficult-to-control "Antoinette" monoplane. Finally, on 8 November 1910, she became the third woman in France to receive her pilot's licence, after Raymonde de Laroche and Marthe Niel.
Even at an advanced age, she never lost her interest in flying and in 1955 she traveled in an American military jet. In the same year, at the age of 80, she even learned to fly a helicopter.
That same year, she also met the aviation pioneer Roger Sommer, with whom she undertook her first motorized flight. Since then, she took flying lessons from French pilot Hubert Latham, who taught her to fly in a difficult-to-control "Antoinette" monoplane. Finally, on 8 November 1910, she became the third woman in France to receive her pilot's licence, after Raymonde de Laroche and Marthe Niel.
Even at an advanced age, she never lost her interest in flying and in 1955 she traveled in an American military jet. In the same year, at the age of 80, she even learned to fly a helicopter.
Image 1: Marie Marvingt in pilot's uniform © Archives départementales du Cantal, All rights reserved.
Image 2: Marie Marvingt at the start of the Grand Prix of the Aéro-Club de France in June 1910. Agence Rol, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Marie Marvingt opened a ski school in Morocco where she taught skiing on dunes.
© Archives départementales du Cantal, All rights reserved.
Amelia Earhart and Marie, together after speaking to 2,500 women members
of the US National Aeronautical Association, Chicago, 1937
© Archives départementales du Cantal, All rights reserved.
Marie Marvingt on a lecture tour in the USA, 1935,
Los Angeles Times, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Marie Marvingt on the cover of the weekly magazine "La Vie au Grand Air"
Garitan, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
click around to close
„Les Amies de l‘Aviation Sanitaire
When World War I broke out in Europe, Marie Marvingt decided to train as a nurse. She
approached the French authorities and the army leadership with her idea of creating an air
ambulance to better treat and rescue the injured, but they rejected the proposal. She was
eventually enlisted as a combat pilot, but she never lost sight of her goal of creating an air
ambulance.
After World War I, she gave hundreds of lectures on her idea, even presenting it to the first international congress on medical aviation in 1929. Additionally, she independently founded the "Les Amies de l‘Aviation Sanitaire" (engl. “Friends of Air Ambulance”), with which she trained nurses, doctors, and pilots for aerial rescue missions.
Before the outbreak of World War II, the French authorities finally allowed her to establish her air ambulance in Morocco in 1934.
After World War I, she gave hundreds of lectures on her idea, even presenting it to the first international congress on medical aviation in 1929. Additionally, she independently founded the "Les Amies de l‘Aviation Sanitaire" (engl. “Friends of Air Ambulance”), with which she trained nurses, doctors, and pilots for aerial rescue missions.
Before the outbreak of World War II, the French authorities finally allowed her to establish her air ambulance in Morocco in 1934.
Image 1: Marie Marvingt in the trenches during the First World War. Le Miroir des Sports , via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Image 2: Émile Friant's drawing of Marie Marvingt and her planned air ambulance. Émile Friant, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Her merits
Marie Marvingt received numerous awards and trophies throughout her eventful life. In Chamonix
alone, she won more than 20 prizes in different winter sports between 1908 and 1910. However,
one of her greatest honors was bestowed upon her in March 1910 by the French "Académie des
Sports". It awarded her a gold medal in all sports, making her the first and only person to receive
this honor.
Her project for the air ambulance was a success and was eventually awarded the Moroccan Peace Medal
Another great honor was bestowed upon her when she was inducted into the French Legion of Honor in 1934 and awarded the Knight's Cross. In addition, she was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1949.
Her project for the air ambulance was a success and was eventually awarded the Moroccan Peace Medal
Another great honor was bestowed upon her when she was inducted into the French Legion of Honor in 1934 and awarded the Knight's Cross. In addition, she was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1949.
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