Births on March 8

Beatrice Shilling

Born on March 8, 1909

Beatrice Shilling, English motorcycle racer and engineer (d. 1990)

Beatrice Shilling OBE PhD MSc CEng (8 March 1909 – 18 November 1990) was a British aeronautical engineer and amateur racing driver. During the Second World War, she designed and developed "Miss Shilling's orifice" to restrict fuel flow to the carburettor of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters. Previously the pilots had experienced a loss of power or even complete engine cut-out during combat manoeuvres, posing a potentially lethal disadvantage in the Battle of Britain.

Shilling raced motorbikes at Brooklands in the 1930s, one of only three women awarded a BMCRC (British Motorcycle Racing Club) Gold Star for lapping the circuit at over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). After the war, she raced cars, mostly at Goodwood Members' Meetings.

References

Beatrice Shilling

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Events on 1909

9 Jan

Nimrod Expedition
Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
28 Jan

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.
22 Feb

Great White Fleet
The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
31 Mar

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
27 Apr

Abdul Hamid II
Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.

Births on March 8

Beatrice Shilling

Born on March 8, 1909

References

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Events on 1909

Nimrod Expedition

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Great White Fleet

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abdul Hamid II