List of aviators
General
While all of these people were pilots (and some still are), many are also noted for contributions in areas such as aircraft design and manufacturing, navigation or popularization.
A
- Bert Acosta
- Saarah Hameed Ahmed
- John Alcock
- Buzz Aldrin
- Scott Anderson
- Gaby Angelini
- Kimberly Anyadike
- Neil Armstrong
- Ludovic Arrachart
- Jacqueline Auriol
B
- Douglas Bader
- Richard Bach
- Italo Balbo
- Bernt Balchen
- Mike Bannister
- Pancho Barnes
- João Ribeiro de Barros
- Jean Batten
- André Beaumont
- Amelie Beese
- Elly Beinhorn
- Jean-Pierre Blanchard
- Lilian Bland
- Louis Blériot
- John Nicolaas Block
- William Boeing
- Arthur Whitten Brown
- Miles Browning
- The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce
- Milo Burcham
- Beverly Lynn Burns
- Richard Byrd
C
- Artur de Sacadura Cabral
- Don Cameron
- George Cayley
- Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi
- Lagâri Hasan Çelebi
- Clyde Cessna
- Touria Chaoui
- Francis Chichester
- Juan de la Cierva
- Henri Coandă
- Jerrie Cobb
- Sir Alan Cobham
- Jackie Cochran
- George Bertram Cockburn
- Bessie Coleman
- François Coli
- Carmela Combe
- Jean Louis Conneau
- Joseph Costa
- Max Conrad
- Dieudonné Costes
- Marcel Courmes
- Gago Coutinho
- Jessica Cox
- Henry Coxwell
- Albert Scott Crossfield
- Glenn Curtiss
- Sharifah Czarena
D
- Steponas Darius
- Aida de Acosta
- B. H. DeLay
- Jurgis Dobkevičius
- Jimmy Doolittle
- Claudius Dornier
- Donald Douglas
- Douglas Douglas-Hamilton
- Neville Duke
- Hélène Dutrieu
E
F
G
- Ernest K Gann
- Roland Garros
- Viola Gentry
- Dagoberto Godoy
- Sabiha Gökçen
- Mike Goulian
- Marlon Green
- Henri Guillaumet
- Bartolomeu de Gusmão
- Antanas Gustaitis
H
- Geoffrey de Havilland
- Mary, Lady Heath
- Ernst Heinkel
- Alex Henshaw
- Hilda Hewlett
- Bert Hinkler
- Bob Hoover
- Howard Hughes
I
J
- Tony Jannus
- Elrey Borge Jeppesen
- Jiro Horikoshi
- W. E. Johns
- Amy Johnson
- Evelyn Bryan Johnson
- Tex Johnston
- Hubert Julian
- Hugo Junkers
K
L
- Clay Lacy
- Raymonde de Laroche
- Ruth Bancroft Law
- Bill Lear
- Alfred LeBlanc
- Léon Lemartin
- Tony LeVier
- Otto Lilienthal
- Charles Lindbergh
- Per Lindstrand
- Alexander Lippisch
- John H. Livingston
- Ormer Locklear
M
- Eilmer of Malmesbury
- Paul Mantz
- Beryl Markham
- Angela Masson
- Wop May
- Esther Mbabazi
- Frederick McCall
- Marie McMillin
- Mike Melvill
- Jean Mermoz
- Russel Merrill
- Betty Miller
- Billy Mitchell
- R. J. Mitchell
- Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock
- Charlotte Möhring
- Jim Mollison
- Montgolfier brothers
- John J. Montgomery
- Ed Musick
N
O
P
- Clyde Pangborn
- John Lankester Parker
- Ivy May Pearce
- Percy Pilcher
- Francesco de Pinedo
- Albert Plesman
- Paul Poberezny
- Tom Poberezny
- Wiley Post
Q
R
- Carol Rabadi
- Bessica Medlar Raiche
- Robert Campbell Reeve
- Molly Reilly
- Hanna Reitsch
- Sally Ride
- Margaret Ringenberg
- Keith Rosenkranz
- Yves Rousseau
- Edvard Rusjan
- Mathias Rust
- Dick Rutan
S
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Alberto Santos-Dumont
- Blanche Stuart Scott
- Sheila Scott
- Igor Sikorsky
- Elinor Smith
- Sir Ross Smith
- Sir Thomas Sopwith
- Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
- Katherine Stinson
- John Stringfellow
- Chesley Sullenberger
T
V
W
- Patty Wagstaff
- Emily Warner
- Erich Warsitz
- Arthur Whitten-Brown
- Frank Whittle
- Roger Q. Williams
- Orville and Wilbur Wright
Y
Z
Military pilots
A
B
- Richard Bach
- Douglas Bader
- Francesco Baracca
- Kristin Bass
- Arturo Merino Benítez
- Brian Binnie
- Mark Binskin
- Billy Bishop
- Richard Bong
- Robert Benedict Bourdillon
- John Boyd
- Pappy Boyington
- Eric Brown
- James E. Brown III
- Roy Brown
- Willa Brown
- Eugene Bullard
C
D
F
G
H
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
Y
Z
Other famous figures with an aviation history
The following is a list of notable people from various professions who are also pilots:
A
- Prince Andrew, Duke of York
- Carl Anthony, American actor
- James Arness, American actor
- David Ascalon, contemporary sculptor and stained glass artist; co-founder of Ascalon Studios
B
- Dierks Bentley, American country musician
- Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
- Ryan Bittle, American actor
- Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013
- André Borschberg, Swiss businessman
- Richard Branson, chairman, Virgin Group
- Aaron Buerge, The Bachelor star
- Jimmy Buffett, American singer, songwriter, author, businessman
- Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian model
- George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
- George W. Bush, eldest son of George H. W. Bush and 43rd President of the United States
- Rod Buskas, Canadian ice hockey player
C
- Maie Casey, Australian pioneer aviator, poet, librettist, biographer, memoirist and artist; wife of Richard Casey; Governor-General of Australia, 1969–74
- Kirby Chambliss, American aerobatics world champion
- Roy Clark, American musician
- Dave Coulier, American actor and comedian
- Tom Cruise, American actor
- Robert Cummings, American actor and aviator
D
- Roald Dahl, British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter
- Terry Deitz, American television personality
- Glen Dell, South African commercial airline trainer and aerobatics pilot
- John Denver, American country music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician
- Mukul Dev, Indian actor
- Bruce Dickinson, English singer, TV presenter, airline pilot
- Michael Dorn, American actor
- Billie Dove, American actress
- Jerry Doyle, American talk radio host, right-libertarian political commentator and television actor
- Jeff Dunham, American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian.
E
- Clint Eastwood, American actor, director
- Noel Edmonds, English television presenter and executive
- Carl Edwards, American NASCAR driver
- Hunter Ellis, American television personality
F
- Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American television host
- Harrison Ford, American actor
- Malcolm Forbes, hot air balloon pilot
- Morgan Freeman, American actor
G
- Lea Gabrielle, American fighter pilot turned journalist, Correspondent for Fox News Channel
- Rajiv Gandhi, prime minister of India 1984–1989, son of India's first female prime minister Indira Gandhi
- David Gilmour, English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer and one of the songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd
- John Glenn, American astronaut and former Ohio senator
- Hermann Göring, German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi party
- Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
- Kirby Grant, Sky King
- Ken Griffey Jr., Major League Baseball 13-time All-Star
H
- Najeeb Halaby, Administrator of the United States Federal Aviation Administration and father of Queen Noor of Jordan
- Howard Hawks, American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era
- Alfred C. Haynes, American Speaker at social events
- Rudolf Hess, prominent figure in Nazi Germany
- Dexter Holland, singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk pop band The Offspring
- Wil Horneff, American actor
- Harry Houdini, Hungarian-American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer
- Gary Hubler, Champion of the Reno Air Races
- Bruce Hyer, Canadian politician
J
- Angelina Jolie, American actress
- Bart Johnson, American actor
- Steve Jones, Red Bull Air Race World Series competitor
K
- Greg Kelly, American journalist; youngest son of NYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly; anchor of WNYW (Fox 5 New York)
- John F. Kennedy, Jr., son of assassinated U. S. president John F. Kennedy
- John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State
- B. B. King, musician
- Kris Kristofferson, American writer, singer-songwriter, actor and musician
- Larry Kusche, American author
L
- Veronica Lake, American actress
- Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
- Cory Lidle, American baseball player
- Per Lindstrand
- Tom Logan, American director, writer, producer, acting instructor, and former actor
- Shane Lundgren, American aviator and commercial aviation businessman and entrepreneur
M
- William P. MacCracken, Jr., First Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics
- Joe Manchin, United States Senator and Governor of West Virginia
- Dean Paul Martin, American singer and actor
- Soong Mei-ling, former first lady of China
- John McCain, senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, 2008 U.S. presidential candidate
- Richie McCaw, retired New Zealand rugby great, now working as a helicopter pilot in his homeland
- Jay McGraw, American writer
- Phil McGraw, American television personality; host of Dr. Phil
- Tim McGraw, American actor and musician
- Michael of Romania, the last King of Romania, and one of the last living leaders of World War II
- John Michels, American football player
- Arseny Mironov, Russian aerospace engineer and aviator, scientist in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing
- Paul Moyer, American journalist; veteran television news broadcaster in Southern California
- Thurman Munson, American baseball player
N
- Gary Numan, English singer, musician, composer, air display pilot, flying examiner
O
- Vivek Oberoi, Indian actor
- Miles O'Brien, American journalist; former CNN correspondent
- Susan Oliver, Emmy-nominated American actress, television director and aviator
P
- Arnold Palmer, late American champion golfer
- Fess Elisha Parker, American actor
- Jake Pavelka, reality TV personality
- Rick Perry, Texas Governor
- Brad Pitt, American actor
- Dave Price, American journalist, Anchor of WNYW (Fox 5 New York), anchor of Good Day New York
- Michael D. Protack, American businessman and candidate for Governor of Delaware
Q
- Dennis Quaid, American actor
R
- Lars Rådeström, Swedish fighter aircraft test pilot
- Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress
- Katherine Rawls, multiple United States national champion in swimming and diving in the 1930s
- Christopher Reeve, American actor, director, producer and writer
- Earl W. Renfroe, history maker in the field of orthodontics and in breaking down the barriers of racism
- Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian
- James A. Rice, American attorney, judge, and politician
- Cliff Robertson, American actor
- Ed Robertson, Canadian musician
- Stephen Rogers, Canadian politician
- Charles Rolls, British aviation pioneer
- Kurt Russell, American actor
S
- Chuck Scarborough, American journalist; veteran television news anchor for WNBC (Channel 4 New York)
- Carlo Schmid, youngest solo pilot to fly around the world
- Jon Scott, American journalist, anchor for Fox News channel
- Al Secord, former NHL player
- Ryan Shore, Grammy and Emmy Award-nominated composer for film, television, games, theater and records
- Nevil Shute, popular British novelist; successful aeronautical engineer
- Dean Smith, American pioneer pilot
- James Stewart, popular American actor
T
- J. R. D. Tata, Indian industrialist
- Ratan Naval Tata, Indian industrialist
- Norman Tebbit, British Conservative politician
- John Travolta, American actor
- Ariel Tweto, one of two daughters of the Alaska airline family
U
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
V
- Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, short story writer, actor and politician
- Mike Vogel, American actor
- Pavel Vlasov, Russian test pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation
- Igor Volk, Soviet test pilot, cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union
W
- Bonny Warner, American luger
- Frank Welker, American actor, best known for the thousands of voices he performs in television and films including Freddie in Scooby-Doo and Megatron in the Transformers franchise.
- Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
- Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King of the Netherlands and part-time KLM pilot
- Alverna Babbs Williams, First American pilot with disabilities to earn a pilot's license[3]
- Ted Williams, left fielder in Major League Baseball
See also
References
- ^ van Wyngarden, Greg (2006). Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #73: Early German Aces of World War 1. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-997-4.
- ^ Notin, Jean-Christophe (2000). 1061 Compagnons, histoire des Compagnons de la libération : Histoire des Compagnons de la Libération. Paris: Perrin. ISBN 2262016062.
- ^ "Alverna Babbs: Fighting to Fly – Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Part 1". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-29.