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Elizabeth Muriel Gregory "Elsie" MacGill, OC (27 March 1905 – 4 November 1980), known as the "Queen of the Hurricanes", was the world's first female aircraft designer. She worked as an aeronautical engineer during the Second World War and did much to make Canada a powerhouse of aircraft construction during her years at Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F) in Fort William, Ontario. After her work at CC&F she ran a successful consulting business. Between 1967-1970 she was a commissioner on the ''Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada'', published in 1970.〔 ==Early life and education== MacGill was born in Vancouver on 27 March 1905, youngest daughter of James Henry MacGill, a prominent Vancouver lawyer, part-time journalist, and Anglican deacon, and Helen Gregory MacGill, a journalist and British Columbia's first woman judge.〔Wakewich 2006, p. 396.〕 She had two older step-brothers from her mother's first marriage, and an older sister Dr. Helen "Young Helen" MacGill Hughes (1903) with whom she was very close. In the early years, they were home schooled in a formal setting to mimic that of Lord Roberts, the public school that the older boys attended. This included drawing lessons with Emily Carr,〔 and swimming lessons with Joe Fortes. Later, they attended King George Secondary School, which was affiliated with McGill University. This rigorous education facilitated Elsie entering University of British Columbia when she was 16.〔 She was admitted to the applied sciences program, but the Dean of the faculty asked her to leave after only one term. When she was 12 years old, her mother was appointed Judge of the Juvenile Court of Vancouver. After 1911, the racial strife in British Columbia continued to escalate, and Jim MacGill's immigration-related legal work was directly impacted. This caused severe financial strain for the family during the war years. Her early aptitude for "fixing things" held the family in good stead, and informed discussions of possible careers. Her mother was an advocate of women's suffrage and influenced MacGill's decision to study engineering. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1927, and was the first Canadian woman to earn a degree in electrical engineering.〔 Elsie was admitted to the University of Toronto's Bachelor of Applied Sciences program in 1923. During the summers she worked in machine shops repairing electrical motors to supplement the theory and practical teachings during the school year. It is also here that Elsie became exposed to the nascent field of aeronautical engineering. Contracting polio just before her graduation,〔 MacGill was told that she would probably spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She refused to accept that possibility, however, and learned to walk supported by two strong metal canes. When she convocated she was Canada's first woman graduate in electrical engineering. Following graduation, she took a junior job with a firm in Pontiac, Michigan. During the time there, the company began producing aircraft, which furthered Elsie's interest in aeronautics. She began part-time graduate studies in aeronautical engineering at the University of Michigan, enrolling in the fall of 1927 in the full-time Master of Science in Engineering program to begin aircraft design work and conduct research and development in the University's new aeronautics facilities. In 1929, she became the first woman in North America, and likely the world, to be awarded a master's degree in aeronautical engineering.〔〔 In order to help finance her doctoral studies at MIT in Cambridge〔 she wrote magazine articles about aircraft and flying.〔("Elsie MacGill: Queen of the Hurricanes." ) ''CBC.'' Retrieved: 28 November 2010.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elsie MacGill」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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