About the Invention

Dr. Elsie MacGill was known for her role as chief engineer for the Canadian Car and Foundry Company during World War II. She was responsible for the production of the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane in Canada and adapted it for flying in cold weather. She also designed and tested the Maple Leaf Trainer.

About the Inventor

'First' is a word that is associated with Elsie MacGill. She was born in 1905 to Helen Gregory MacGill, the first woman judge in British Columbia. Her mother was an advocate of women's suffrage and her example probably influenced Elsie's decision to study engineering.

Elsie was the first woman to graduate from the electrical engineering program at the University of Toronto in 1927. She took a job with an automotive plant in the US and when the company moved into the new field of aircraft production, she enrolled at the University of Michigan. In 1929, she was the first woman to graduate with a masters degree in aeronautical engineering.

Before she was able to start her full-time career, she was struck with polio and doctors told her that she would probably spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She refused to accept their prognosis and forced herself to learn to walk again with two strong metal canes. To help pay her doctor bills, she wrote magazine articles about planes and flying. In 1934, she resumed her career as an aeronautical engineer with Fairchild Aircraft.

In 1938, she was hired by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. While there, Elsie designed and tested an airplane called the Maple Leaf Trainer that was used to train pilots. Her radical new design gave the student pilot greater visibility and better stability during take-offs and landings. During the war, Elsie was also responsible for the production of the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane. At the peak of production, Elsie had a staff of 4,500 under her supervision.

In 1943, Elsie married, but kept her maiden name (probably a first for that time), and she also opened her own business as a consulting aeronautical engineer. Prior to her death in 1980, she was the recipient of many awards and honours including the Gzowski Medal of the Engineering Institute of Canada (1941), the Award for Meritorious Contribution to Engineering (1953), the Order of Canada (1971), the Gold Medal of the Association of Professional Engineers (1979), and the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. Although one of Elsie's greatest joys was spending time in her rose garden, she also worked tirelessly for recognition and advancement of women. Elsie was active in campaigns for paid maternity leave, day care facilities and the liberalization of abortion laws.