Who was Dot Lemon?

For EAA.org by Richard Kinsman, EAA 1074330

(Reprinted with permission from EAA Vintage Airplane, Nov. 2011)

Dot Lemon (Courtesy of EAA)Mystery woman, barnstormer, pylon racer, gold-mine owner, Whitney family orphan … take your pick.

The history and mystery of this compelling woman (1907-1986) will be the subject of an exhibit at the International Women’s Air and Space Museum, from Oct. 3 to Jan. 3, 2012, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dot Lemon never publicly identified her birth parents as members of the wealthy and prominent Chicago Whitney family, although the Whitney name appears on her birth certificate and passport application, signed by her. While she often alluded to the fact that she was the adopted daughter of the parents who raised her, Pastor and Mrs. Albert Martin, she maintained that her biological father was a wealthy and prominent man from Chicago. Her response to further inquiries on the matter was that her past was “private.” In spite of her obscure and controversial birth origins, she lived a colorful and amazingly successful life.