Georgia Ann Thompson, the first female parachutist and inventor of the rip cord,
Georgia Ann Thompson, the first female parachutist and inventor of the rip cord, became famous under the name Tiny Broadwick. She weighed only three pounds at birth in 1893 in North Carolina, and never grew past 5 feet tall and 80 pounds. She married at 12, and bore a daughter, Verla, at 13. After her husband died in an accident, she had to work 14-hour days in a cotton mill. "In 1907 at the North Carolina State Fair, Georgia saw the performance, 'The Broadwicks and their Famous French Aeronauts.' The performers ascended to the sky in hot-air balloons, then thrilled spectators by jumping out of them with parachutes. Inspired by this, Georgia asked show owner Charles Broadwick if she could travel with the group and become a part of the act. He agreed to hire her, and Georgia’s mother let her go with a few stipulations- she had to leave Verla behind and send back money to help support her. Broadwick trained her in the art of parachute jumping, and in 1908, legally adopted ...