Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart (July 24, 1897 – disappeared July 2, 1937) was an adventurer and inspiration to women around the world. At a time when women’s only expectation in life was to become married and raise children, Earhart set new precedence by learning to fly an airplane and set world records. She was an advocate for women’s rights and empowered female flyers by forming the Ninety-Nines, an aviation organization that still exists to this day. Her bravery and free spirit allowed her to live her short life to the fullest.

Amelia’s Early Years

Amelia Mary Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, in her grandmothers house that sat high in a hill. Her mother’s family came from money, but growing up there were always fluctuating worries regarding money. Her father had difficulties holding down  job and therefore the family moved often. By the time Amelia graduated high school, she had lived in four different cities throughout the Midwest.

An Adventurous Spirit

From a young age, Amelia was shy with an adventurous spirit. Amelia and her younger sister often played outside, climbed trees and searched for worms. For the early 1900’s, their mother raised them in an unconventional manner. For instance, they were allowed to wear bloomers (in lieu of dresses) and be more free of the traditional “young lady” standards of the day.

Amelia’s first “flight” was inspired by her trip to the 1904 World’s Fair. Her father had enough money to take the family to St. Louis to see exhibits from over 45 countries, including a roller coaster! Once home, she enlisted her uncle’s help to build a homemade roller coaster of wooden tracks from the top of the shed. Amelia dove down the greased tracks in the buggy… and crashed. After making some adjustments, she dove down again. Amelia felt as though she was flying. At the Des Moines State Fair, 10 year old Amelia actually saw her first plane. Her father encouraged her to take a flight but, surprisingly, she was uninterested.

In school Amelia was smart, interested in science and enjoyed athletics. She dreamed of going to a top college but money was tight. Instead, she enrolled in a private junior college for girls. With 1 full year complete, school was interrupted by WWI. By Christmas 1917, she was working in a Toronto hospital as a nurse’s aid. Her care continued during the Spanish Infleunza epidemic in 1918. This period in her life inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. Amelia enrolled at Columbia University in New York but her studies didn’t last long. While Amelia knew what she didn’t want to do with her life (stay home and be married), she had trouble discovering what it was she did want to do.

Becoming an Aviator

In 1920, she moved to Los Angeles to live with her parents. They had hoped she would settle down soon, but a trip to the air show in Long Beach finally led Amelia to discover what she was meant to do. A few days later her father brought her to the nearby airfield for her very first plane ride. She loved it! Her dream was to become a pilot but this would not come cheap. Amelia worked odd jobs as a truck driver, photographer and stenographer to earn extra money. She finally started lessons for $1 (equivalent to around $13 today) per minute by a female pilot. In 1923, less than a year later, Amelia became the 16th woman in history to earn her pilots license. With some money given to her by her mother, she purchased a second hand plane, painted it yellow and named it The Canary.

Flying Career

As a young woman pilot, Amelia garnered quite a bit of publicity. Although she didn’t like to be the center of attention,  flying in air shows was a good way to make extra money. One days she decided to see how high she could fly. She made it to 14,000 feet before her engine began to fail, successfully setting her first record. Unfortunately, her flying career was put on hold for several years during the 20’s.

In 1927, hopes of a flying career were reignited when Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to cross the Atlantic. Could Amelia become the first woman? She teamed up with a man named George Putnam, a publisher and future husband, and became the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by plane. Even though she hadn’t flown, Amelia was catapulted into fame. She continued to break records, participate in races, give speeches and write articles. By 1932, she had become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.

In 1937, Amelia was to be the first person to circumnavigate the globe near the equator, setting the record for longest distance. In May she left California heading East, accompanied by two navigators. Near the end of the long journey, and with approximately 7,000 miles left to go, Amelia and her team lost their way. Radio contact was poor and they were unable to locate the small island of Howland. Some of the last messages received indicated she was searching for the small island but running low on fuel. The official search for Earhart was the most expensive and intense search in history to date, lasting 17 days and costing 4 million dollars. Her husband financed his own search for her immediately after the official search ended. Nothing from their flight was ever recovered.

Amelia’s Legacy

Amelia remains an American idol and an inspiration to girls to this day. Throughout her life she pushed the boundaries of female expectations with her free spirit of adventure and willingness to try new things. She proved that women can do anything they set their minds to. She used her fame to promote women’s rights and freedoms with the National Women’s Party and established the Ninety-Nines. This organization still offers female pilots support, mentoring, networking and scholarship opportunities.

Amelia’s disappearance in 1937 will continue to be the subject of much debate shrouded in mystery. In the past 80 years, countless searches have been conducted for the missing aircraft but to no avail. Among the many theories surrounding her disappearance, the most widely accepted is a crash landing into the Pacific. However, some believe she may have been able to land on another island. Others speculate she was captured by the Japanese as a spy. She may have been killed or quietly released into US custody under an assumed name to live the remainder of her life out of the public eye. Until solid evidence can be uncovered of her or the missing plane, this will remain one of the world’s most intriguing unsolved mysteries.

Some of her most notable accomplishments and records include:

• First women to be a passenger in a plane to cross the Atlantic (1928)
• First female pilot to fly across the Atlantic (1932)
• 16th Woman to earn her pilots license (1923)
• First person to fly solo from Honolulu to CA (1935)
• Female speed record at 180 MPH (1930)
• First woman to fly an autogiro and break altitude record (1931)
• First woman to fly solo across the US non-stop (1932)