The people behind the story
Their Story
A Remarkable Couple, An Extraordinary American Story
Olive Ann Beech
- co-founder of Beech Aircraft Corp.
- one of the very first women in American history to lead a major corporation
Through the years
A life in chapters.
The barnstorming years
Walter Beech flies as a barnstormer.
Walter Beech The Great Depression
Walter and Olive Ann Beech found Beech Aircraft Corp.
Walter and Olive Ann Beech in front of a Staggerwing. Olive Ann
Even before Walter's shockingly early death, Olive Ann had quietly assumed the dominant role in their company. She was a woman in a man's world, one of the very first women in American history to lead a major corporation.
Olive Ann Beech 1980
Olive Ann Beech, known as the “First Lady of Aviation”, receives the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in Washington, D.C., the first woman to receive it.
Her last speech. Her first speech.
Olive Ann Beech’s acceptance in 1980 was eight words. In 2026 her granddaughter closed with the same eight.
2023
Walter and Olive Ann Beech are inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine.
2025
A book launch is held in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
2026
Jennifer Pitt accepts the Tory Burch Posthumous Founder's Award for her grandmother.
Photographs
From the archive.
