Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart (July 24, 1897 - c. July 2, 1937) was a famous American aviator, known for breaking new ground for female pilots, and remembered for her mysterious disappearance during a flight over the Pacific Ocean.

Flying career

Born in Atchison, Kansas, Amelia Mary Earhart loved to play with her younger sister, Muriel. This time that they spent together sheltered Amelia from her father and his alcoholism. Because of Edwin Earhart's inability to provide for his family, Amelia spent the first twelve years of her life living with her mother's parents.

Her introduction to aviation occurred at a Kansas state fair when she went up in an airplane piloted by Frank Hawks on December 28, 1920. She later worked as a nurse’s aide in a military hospital in Canada during World War I. Her career began in Los Angeles in 1921 when, at age 24, she took flying lessons from Neta Snook and bought her first airplane, a Kinner Airstar. Due to family problems, she sold the plane in 1924 and moved back East, where she was employed as a social worker.

One afternoon in April, 1928, she got a phone call while at work. The man at the other end asked her "Would you like to fly the Atlantic?" She interviewed with the project coordinators, including book publisher and publicist George Putnam, and was asked to join pilot Wilmer Stultz and co-pilot/mechanic Louis Gordon. The team left Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, in a Fokker F7 on June 17, 1928, and arrived at Burry Port, Wales approximately 21 hours later. When the crew returned to the States, they were greeted with a ticker-tape parade in New York and a reception held by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. From then on, flying was the fixture of Earhart's life. She placed third at the Cleveland Women's Air Derby (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by Will Rogers). Her life also began to include Putnam. The two developed a friendship during preparation for the Atlantic crossing. They were married on February 7, 1931. Earhart referred to the marriage as a "partnership" with "dual control."

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