Women in Aviation Wall of Fame:
Elsie MacGill

Elsie MacGill did not set out to change the world of aviation. She studied electrical engineering at the University of Toronto and upon graduating became the first Canadian woman to obtain an electrical engineering degree. Soon after she began working for an automobile maker in 1927. This company began to make airplanes, so she began to study aeronautical engineering.

In 1929, she completed her master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, becoming the first woman aeronautical engineer in the world. Unfortunately, that same year she was diagnosed with polio.

In 1938, MacGill took the position of chief aeronautical engineer, the first woman in that position in the world, at the Canadian Car and Foundry factory in Fort William (now Thunder Bay) Ontario. She began work on the Maple Leaf II Trainer and by reengineering the design, she became the first woman to design an aircraft. During the Second World War, she reequipped the Canadian Car and Foundry factory to mass-produce the Hawker Hurricane. As a result, MacGill became known as the “Queen of the Hurricanes.”

After leaving Canadian Car and Foundry, she set up her own successful consulting engineering company. Also, she took up the cause of feminism. She served on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. She became an advocate for women in engineering by fighting to remove barriers.

Overcoming many obstacles and difficulties, MacGill made lasting changes to aviation in both Canada and the world. From fighting fascism during the Second World War to helping women in engineering, her work was groundbreaking.