Jennifer Murray

Jennifer Murray (born June 1940 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a pilot.

She married Hong Kong businessman Simon Murray in 1966.

In August 1997, Murray became the first woman to fly a helicopter around the world, when she co-piloted her Robinson R44 with Quentin Smith on the eastward circumnavigation.

The 97-day flight was also an eastbound speed record for a piston-powered helicopter.

The flight departed from Denham, UK, on 10 May 1997, and her stopover at Oakland Airport, Ca., USA on 20 July is commemorated at the Oakland Aviation Museum.

In 2000 she circumnavigated the globe in a Robinson R44 helicopter, traveling 36,000 miles in 97 days, earning her the Guinness World Record for the first helicopter circumnavigation by a woman.

On 6 September 2000, Murray became the first woman to make a solo flight around the world in a helicopter and the first person to do so without autopilot.

Their first, in 2003, ended in a near fatal crash in Antarctica, after Murray had just become the first woman to fly a helicopter to the South Pole.

In 2007, Murray and co-pilot Colin Bodill became the first to land a helicopter on both North and South Poles, their second attempt.

At 71, Jennifer was an entrant for RacingThePlanet Nepal, a 250 km Ultramarathon starting on 20 November 2011.

She withdrew after stage two.

She is the granddaughter of Sir William Mather, the British industrialist who was chairman of Mather & Platt.