Amelia Earhart

Aviator, Aviation Pioneer

American Atchison, Kansas, U.S.

Quick Info

ProfessionAviator, Aviation Pioneer
NationalityAmerican
Date of Birth24/07/1897
Age39 years (died on 02, Jul, 1937)
BirthplaceAtchison, Kansas, U.S.
Date of Death02/07/1937

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Bio/Wiki

Full NameAmelia Mary Earhart
Known AsLady Lindy
SummaryOne of the world's most celebrated aviators and aviation pioneers. First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Disappeared during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.
Declared Dead05/01/1939
Disappearance LocationNear Howland Island, central Pacific Ocean

Educational Qualification(s)

High SchoolCompleted in Chicago, 1916
CollegeAttended junior college, left in 1918

Personal Life

Early InterestAttended stunt-flying exhibition in late teens, became seriously interested in aviation
WWI ServiceWorked as nurse's aide in military hospital in Toronto, 1918

Relationships & More

SpouseGeorge Putnam
Marriage Date02/1931

Family

MotherAmelia 'Amy' Otis
SisterMuriel
ChildhoodSpent early childhood with maternal grandparents in upper-middle-class household

Career

Pilot License16th woman to be issued a pilot's license
Notable Achievements
  • First woman to cross the Atlantic by airplane as passenger, 1928
  • First woman to make nonstop solo transatlantic flight, 1932
  • Second person overall to make solo nonstop Atlantic crossing after Charles Lindbergh
  • First person to cross the Atlantic twice by air
  • First woman to fly solo across the United States
  • First woman to fly solo from Hawaii to American mainland
  • First woman to fly an autogyro
  • Set women's world flying speed record of 181.18 mph
  • First person to fly solo from Hawaii to California, 1935
  • First to fly nonstop from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey, 1935
OrganizationsFirst president of the Ninety-Nines, Inc., organization for female pilots, established 1931
PublicationsWrote several best-selling books about flying experiences and a column on aviation for Cosmopolitan magazine
AdvocacyLectured widely and advocated for women in aviation and rejection of constrictive social norms; active in the National Woman’s Party and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. When she saw her first plane at age 10 at a state fair, she was not impressed, calling it 'a thing of rusty wire and wood'
2. Worked as a social worker at Denison House settlement in Boston
3. Parents divorced in 1924
4. Received Distinguished Flying Cross for 1932 transatlantic flight
5. Final flight was an attempt to circumnavigate the globe from the equator with copilot
6. Search and rescue operation cost 4 million dollars and covered 250,000 square miles of ocean
7. Lighthouse constructed on Howland Island in 1938 in her memory
8. Multiple streets, schools, and airports across United States named after her
9. Birthplace Atchison, Kansas became virtual shrine to her memory
10. Was elected a member of the Society of Women Geographers in 1932
11. Helped promote commercial air travel and advised airlines and airplane manufacturers
Information on this page is collected from public sources and may not be 100% accurate. Report an error
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