Jacqueline Ariol (1917-2000) was the one of the first female pilots to break the sound barrier and set five world speed records.
On June 22, 1962, she set her fifth speed record at Istres, France. Here's a brief description from Hargrave:
"After weeks of preparation, she took off in a Dassault Mirage IIIC, determined to break Jacqueline Cochran's record. Her first attempt failed when she passed inside one of the turn points. Officials redesigned the course, adding six points. By late afternoon, she was again airborne. Flying at 37,000 feet, Madame Auriol covered 63 miles in 3 minutes and 23 seconds, a speed of 1149.65 mph. She exceeded Miss Cochran's record by 367 mph and broke the men's record set in 1959."
Born to a wealthy shipbuilder and timber importer, she graduated from the University of Nantes and then studied art at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. She married the son of the future President of France and was for a time the official tea pourer of the Elysee Palace.
During WW II, she joined the French resistance in its fight to undermine the German occupation. After the war her life changed dramatically when her face was crushed in seaplane accident where she was a passenger. She required some 20+ plastic surgery operations (during which time she did not see her two boys) and then emerged to a new life.
Energized and spiritually transformed, she went on to earn her military license and became qualified as the world's first woman test pilot.
Her tragedies and successes are recounted in her 1970 autobiography: I Live to Fly.
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