Elsie MacGill

During World War II, MacGill oversaw the Canadian production of the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane at the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. Her work managing the manufacturing of this critical RAF fighter earned her the public nickname 'Queen of the Hurricanes.'

In 1929, MacGill became the first woman in the world to earn a master's degree in aeronautical engineering, which she completed at the University of Michigan. This was a groundbreaking achievement in a field that was almost entirely male at the time.

Yes, MacGill was a prominent advocate for women's rights in Canada and served as president of the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. She was also active in the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

MacGill contracted polio in the early 1930s, which left her with permanent mobility limitations in her legs, yet she continued her engineering career undeterred. She also faced persistent gender discrimination in a profession that routinely excluded women from technical roles.