Frances Phipps was a Canadian, and the first woman who reached the North Pole (on April 5, 1971).
She was married to the Canadian bush pilot "Weldy" Welland Phipps,[3][4] who had been her flight instructor,[5] and the couple had nine children.
[6] Along with her husband, she founded Atlas Aviation in Resolute Bay, Nunavut,[3][7][8] which was at the time the most northerly charter air service in Canada.
[11] Because no woman had been to the North Pole before, Frances' trip was included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
[12] In 1972, Fran and Weldy bought a 48-foot sailboat, and for over a decade traveled the world by sea.