Elvy Kalep | |
|---|---|
 Elvy Kalep in 1930 | |
| Born | Alviine-Johanna Kalep 26 June 1899 |
| Died | 15 August 1989 (aged 90) Lake Worth, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | Estonian |
| Occupation(s) | Aviator, author, artist |
| Known for | First Estonian female pilot |
Alviine-Johanna Kalep (26 June 1899 – 15 August 1989), known as Elvy Kalep,[1] was an Estonian aviator and the country's first female pilot, as well as an artist, toy designer and a one-time children's author.
Kalep grew up in Estonia and Russia, and subsequently moved to China to escape the Russian Civil War. She worked briefly as an interpreter for military officials in China before settling in Paris to study art with Alexandre Jacovleff. In 1931, she qualified as a pilot in Germany, becoming the first Estonian female pilot. Befriending American aviator Amelia Earhart, she joined the Ninety-Nines and took up the cause of encouraging other women to take up aviation. She wrote and illustrated a children's book about flying, Air Babies, which was first published in 1936.
After settling in the United States, Kalep founded a toy manufacturing business in New York. Although she was forced to close the business in 1946 due to her poor health, she made a living through the 1950s by selling patents to toy designs to larger businesses. In later decades, she created artworks out of leather, which she exhibited across the United States. She died in Florida in 1989.
- ^ Raudla, Heiki (February 2005). "Eesti esimese naislenduri – Elvy Kalepi tormiline elu". Kultuur ja Elu (in Estonian). Retrieved 21 February 2015.