| Birth Date: | June 1940 |
| Birth Place: | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Known For: | First helicopter circumnavigation of the globe by a woman |
| Children: | 3 |
| Spouse: | Simon Murray |
Jennifer Murray (née Mather; born June 1940 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a pilot. In 2000 she circumnavigated the globe in a Robinson R44 helicopter, travelling in 97 days, earning her the Guinness World Record for the first helicopter circumnavigation by a woman.
Jennifer Mather was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in June 1940. She was educated at Downe House School in Berkshire, UK.[1] 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.
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.[6]
At 71, Jennifer was an entrant for RacingThePlanet Nepal, a 250km (160miles) ultramarathon starting on 20 November 2011. She withdrew after stage two.[7]
Mather married Hong Kong businessman Simon Murray in 1966.