Helen Richey
Helen Richey (1909–1947) was a pioneering female aviator and the first woman to be hired as a pilot by a commercial airline in the United States.
Richey was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. She graduated from McKeesport High School in 1927. Her father, Joseph B. Richey, was superintendent of schools in McKeesport from 1902 to 1935. During her teens, Richey was one of the few girls in McKeesport who wore pants. She learned how to fly a plane at age 20. Her father bought her a plane when she obtained her pilot's license.
In 1933 Richey partnered with another female pilot, Frances Marsalis, to set an endurance record by staying airborne for nearly 10 days, with midair refueling. In 1934 Richey won the premier air race at the first National Air Meet for women in Dayton, Pennsylvania. Also in 1934, Central Airlines, a Greensburg, Pennsylvania–based carrier that eventually became part of United Airlines, hired Richey as a pilot; she made her first regular civil flight with them on December 31, taking a Ford Trimotor on the Washington to Detroit route. She eventually was forced to step down from the cockpit by the all-male pilots union.
Helen Richey (dancer)
Helen Richey (born 1945) is a former competitive ballroom and latin dancer and is now a dance coach and judge. She is also appearing as a judge in the Australian television series Dancing with the Stars.
Richey was born in 1945 in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia. She started dancing at a very early age, studying Ballet and Tap. At 15, she won the coveted Lily Ellison Award and two years later she met her future husband Robert, taking up Ballroom and Latin dancing. After winning the Australian Rising Stars Ballroom Championship, they travelled to the United Kingdom to further their dancing careers. Originally planning to visit for six months, they stayed for 27 years.
Her competitive career included becoming undefeated All England Latin Champion as well as the South of England Latin Champion and the Imperial Latin Champion. In the major international events, Helen was placed third in the World Professional Latin Championship, equal third in the British Professional Latin Championship, runner-up in the United Kingdom Professional Latin and was twice placed third in the International Professional Latin Championship. For seven consecutive years, Helen was a Grand Finalist in the British Professional Championship, one of the most prestigious events. She was also Australia’s official representative in the World Championships in both the Ballroom and Latin Styles for over 10 years and was a regular semi-finalist in the Ballroom Style.
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