Amelia Earhart Remembered
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Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.
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~ Amelia Earhart to George Putnam, 1935
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August 19 is National Aviation Day. The names of several famous men are associated with the early days of airplanes and flight, but among women one name stands out: Amelia Earhart.
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Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division (reproduction number LC-USZ62-20901)
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Amelia Earhart was one of the first female pilots and the first woman to cross the Atlantic by airplane.
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Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, 1897. Amelia and her younger sister, Muriel, had a difficult childhood. Their father, Edwin Stanton, had a hard time keeping jobs, so the family was forced to move from one city to another quite often. The girls frequently missed school, but still managed to excel academically throughout the hardships that they endured. They loved books, poetry, and sports. With the encouragement of their parents, they embraced new opportunities with much enthusiasm and tenacity.
After graduating from high school in 1915, Amelia planned to attend college, but those plans changed after a chance meeting with four wounded World War I veterans on the street. After hearing about their unfortunate situation, Amelia decided to study nursing. During the war, she worked as a military nurse in Canada. In 1919-20 she attended Columbia University, taking courses that prepared her for medical school. She moved to California in 1920 to join her family.
Amelia enjoyed watching airplane stunt shows, which were very popular during the 1920s. It was after visiting a local airfield in California and being given a ride on a plane that she decided to learn how to fly. To earn the money for flying lessons, Amelia worked several odd jobs. She hired another female aviator, Neta Snook, as her teacher. On January 3, 1921, Amelia had her first flying lesson. After several hours of instruction, she was ready to fly all by herself. She made her first solo flight in 1921. Except for a poor landing, the flight was uneventful. The following year, Amelia got her pilot's license and had saved enough money to buy her very own plane, which she named "Canary."
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Harry Mellon Rhoads, Library of Congress
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Amelia Earhart was loved and respected nationwide.
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Later in the 1920s, Amelia lived with her mother and sister in Boston. In 1925 she became a social worker at the Denison House in Boston where she taught English to immigrant children. However, she still longed to fly.
Then in April 1928, Amelia received a call from Captain Hilton H. Railey asking her if she would like to join two male pilots on a flight from America to England. The trip was being organized by a New York publisher named George Putnam. Their idea originally was to have a woman fly across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1928, exactly a year after Charles Lindbergh's historic solo flight from New York to France. The weather, however, postponed the trip for about a month. On June 17 in Nova Scotia, Amelia boarded a plane called Friendship and less than twenty-one hours later the plane landed in Wales. Although she was not at the controls, Amelia was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane.
Her transatlantic flight brought her a lot of publicity. Upon her return, Amelia was greeted with a parade in New York and invited to a reception held by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. In September of that same year, she became the first woman to fly solo roundtrip across the United States, setting the women's nonstop transcontinental speed record. On May 20-21, 1932 -- five years after Lindbergh's flight -- Amelia became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
Earhart was recognized for her achievements throughout Europe and the United States. She was awarded a gold medal from the National Geographic Society, which she received from President Herbert Hoover, as well as the Army Air Corps Distinguished Flying Cross. Her husband George Putnam, who she married in 19??, was very active in promoting her career throughout their marriage. And she kept on flying. On January 11, 1935, Amelia became the first woman to successfully complete the hazardous flight from Hawaii to California.
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Credit: National Photo Company Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
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Amelia Earhart paved the way for other women to enter aviation.
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As Amelia’s 40th birthday approached, she had the yearning to do something truly monumental -- to be the first woman to fly around the world. In June 1937, Amelia took what was to be her final flight. With navigator Fred Noonan, she set out in a twin-engine plane in an attempt to fly around the world. Several days later, the U.S. Coast Guard lost contact with the plane.
The United States Navy led an extensive air and sea search for more than two weeks, but never found any trace of the aviators or the plane. In 1938, a lighthouse was constructed on Howland Island, which was Amelia’s destination before contact was lost. The mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her plane has raised considerable speculation throughout the years. Some believe she and Noonan were captured by the Japanese; others speculate that she was sent on a special spy mission. However, none of these theories about her disappearance have ever been confirmed. In 1939, Amelia Earhart’s husband published a biography entitled Soaring Wings in tribute to his courageous wife.
"... decide... whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying." These are the telling words of Amelia Earhart, one of the world’s most celebrated aviators, a woman who broke records and barriers, and who opened doors for women with courage and pride.
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Writing Prompt
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Imagine you are a young reporter covering the national news of the 1920s and '30s. You've just been assigned to write a short news article about a female pilot, Amelia Earhart. It's your job to tell readers nationwide everything they need to know. Choose any event in Earhart's life - from her first record-breaking flight of 1922 to her final flight around the world. As you're writing your news account, think about how this particular event influenced or was affected by other events of the time.
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