Jennifer Murray

Jennifer Mather was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in June 1940.^{[citation needed]} She was educated at Downe House School in Berkshire, UK.^{[1][non-primary source needed]} Her paternal grandfather was Sir William Mather, the British industrialist who was chairman of Mather & Platt.^[2]

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.^[3] The 97-day flight was also an eastbound speed record for a piston-powered helicopter.^[4][5] The flight departed from Denham, Buckinghamshire, UK on 10 May 1997, and her stopover at Oakland Airport in California on 20 July is commemorated at the Oakland Aviation Museum. 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.^[4]

In 2007, Murray and co-pilot Colin Bodill became the first to land a helicopter on both North and South Poles, their second attempt. 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.^[4][6]

At 71, Jennifer was an entrant in RacingThePlanet Nepal, a 250-kilometre (160 mi) ultramarathon starting on 20 November 2011. She withdrew after stage two.^[7]

Mather married Hong Kong businessman Simon Murray in 1966.^{[citation needed]}