Earning Her Wings

Betty Dobson

13 January 2015

* Amelia Mary Earhart is born July 24th in

Atchison, Kansas, to Samuel “Edwin”

Stanton Earhart and Amelia “Amy” Otis.

*Her mother does not believe in molding

her daughters into “nice little girls.”

* Childhood activities include climbing

trees, “belly slamming” her sled to start

it down hill, and hunting rats with a .22

rifle.

“There are two kinds of stones, as everyone

knows, one of which rolls.”

*

* Uncle helps build a ramp from the shed

roof; a crash landing and minor injuries

cannot dampen the exhilaration of her

first “flight” (1904).

* Sees her first plane at the Iowa State

Fair and is not impressed ("a thing of

rusty wire and wood and not at all

interesting”) (circa 1907).

* Scrapbooks newspaper clippings about

successful women in predominately

male-oriented fields.

* Family moves to Des Moines, Iowa

(1909).

*

* At a stunt-flying exhibition, a pilot

spots Amelia and her friend, who are

watching from an isolated clearing,

and dives at them.

“I am sure he said to himself, ‘Watch me

make them scamper’.”

* Amelia, feeling a mixture of fear and

pleasure, stands her ground; as the

plane swoops by, something inside her

awakens.

“I did not understand it at the time, but I

believe that little red airplane said

something to me as it swished by.”

*

* Family moves to Minnesota then

to Chicago (1915).

* After graduating from Hyde Park

High School, Chicago (1916),

Amelia attends Ogontz, a girl's

finishing school in the suburbs of

Philadelphia, but leaves in the

middle of her second year.

“In soloing—as in other activities—it is

far easier to start something than it is

to finish it.”

*

* Volunteers as a nurse's aide

(with Canadian Red Cross

training) at Spadina Military

Convalescent Hospital (Toronto)

for the “walking wounded” of

World War One.

“There is so much that must be done

in a civilized barbarism like war.”

*

* After the war, enrolls in

the pre-med program of

Columbia University (New

York) but leaves after the

first semester.

* Joins her parents in Los

Angeles and takes her

first flight with Frank

Hawks (1920).

*

* Completes flying lessons

with Neta Snook in six

months (1921).

* Purchases her first

aircraft— a bright yellow

Kinner Airster —and names

it “The Canary” (1921).

* Sets an unofficial women's

flying altitude record of

14,000 feet (1922).

*

* 16th woman to receive

pilot's license from the

Fédération Aéronautique

Internationale (World Air

Sports Federation).

* 1st woman licensed by

the National Aeronautic

Association.

*

* Sells “The Canary” and buys

an automobile, drives her

mother to Massachusetts and

settles with her younger

sister, Muriel (1924).

*Works as a social worker

with children at the Denison

House in Boston (1926).

*Writes Ruth Nichols about

forming an organization for

women who fly (1927).

*

* First woman to fly across Atlantic

Ocean as a passenger (June). (Three

other pilots had died in the past year

making the attempt.)

Right: With co-pilot/mechanic Louis E. "Slim" Gordon

and pilot Wilmer "Bill" Stultz during a stop in Halifax

* Joins Zonta Club of Boston (July).

* Buys Avro Avian airplane.

*Writes 20 Hrs., 40 Min.

* Completes first transcontinental

flight by a woman (September/

October).

*

* Acquires a single engine

Lockheed Vega aircraft.

* Competes in Women's

Air Derby (Santa Monica

to Cleveland)—finishes

in third place.

*Helps organize The

Ninety-Nines (Int’l

Organization of Women

Pilots) (November).

*

* Sets the women's world

flying speed record of

181.18 mph (July).

* Acquires her air transport

license (October).

“My ambition is to have this

wonderful gift produce practical

results for the future of

commercial flying and for the

women who may want to fly

tomorrow's planes.”

*

* Becomes first president of The Ninety-Nines.

* Marries George Palmer Putnam in Connecticut (February) after his 6th

proposal.

“I want you to understand I shall not hold you to any midaevil [sic] code of faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly.”

* Acquires an autogyro and sets a women's autogyro altitude record of 18,415 feet (April).

* Completes first solo transcontinental flight in an autogyro (May/June).

*

* Writes The Fun of It

* Becomes the first woman (and second person) to fly solo

across the Atlantic Ocean in her single engine Lockheed

Vega and the first person to cross the Atlantic twice by air.

* Sets women's record for fastest non-stop transcontinental

flight (Los Angeles to Newark) in 19 hours, 5 minutes

(August).

* Awarded the Army Air Corps Distinguished Flying Cross.

* Becomes the second non-British pilot to receive Honorary

Membership in the British Guild of Airpilots and Navigators.

* Awarded the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society,

presented by President Herbert Hoover.

* Receives honorary membership in the National Aeronautic

Association.

* Wins Harmon Trophy as America's Outstanding Airwoman.

*

* Participates in the National Air

Races in Los Angeles, California.

* Breaks her own North American

transcontinental record with a

flying time of 17 hours, 7 minutes,

30 seconds.

*Wins the Harmon Trophy again

(1933).

*Wins the Harmon Trophy for the

third year in a row (1934).

*

* First person to fly solo across the

Pacific Ocean from Honolulu to

Oakland, California, in 17 hours, 7

minutes (January).

* First person to fly solo from Los

Angeles to Mexico City by official

invitation from the Mexican

Government (April).

* First woman to compete in the

National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio.

*Named America's Outstanding

Airwoman by Harmon Trophy

committee.

*

* Takes delivery of

Lockheed twin-

engine airplane

financed by Purdue

University (July).

* Starts to plan her

round-the-world

flight.

*

* Begins round-the-world flight in

Oakland, California, and sets a record

for east-west (Oakland to Hawaii) travel

in 15 hours, 47 minutes (March).

*Ground loops plane while taking off

from Hawaii for Howland Island and

badly damages it (March).

* Airplane is repaired and a second round-

the-world attempt is started from

Miami, Florida (June).

* Disappears near Howland Island July 2nd.

Final words heard: “We are running

north and south.”

*

*Most expensive air and sea

search in naval history (at the

time) commences immediately.

* $4 million spent scouring

250,000 square miles of ocean.

*U.S. government reluctantly

calls of rescue effort on July

19th.

* Despite many theories, no

proof of her fate exists.

Right: “Amelia” (digital collage)

by Barbara Berney

*

* Courage is the price that life exacts for

granting peace.

* Decide…whether or not the goal is worth

the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying…

* Never do things others can do and will do

if there are things others cannot do or

will not do.

* Never interrupt someone doing what you

said couldn’t be done.

* Please know that I am aware of the

hazards. I want to do it because I want to

do it. Women must try to do things as

men have tried. When they fail, their

failure must be a challenge to others.

*

Amelia helps promote Cary Grant and Myrna Loy’s first film together, Wings in the Dark (1935).

*

TRIVIA QUIZ

Can you name each of these

actresses who has played

Amelia in film or on TV?

Bonus points if you know the

movie or series title.

Susan Clark—Amelia Earhart

Amy Adams—Night at the Museum 2

With a tip of the flight helmet

to Chantal Perron for her

one-woman play Aviatrix.

*Memorial lighthouse constructed on

Howland Island (1938).

* Across the U.S., streets, schools,

and airports are named after her.

* Atchison, Kansas, becomes a

virtual shrine to her memory.

* Amelia Earhart awards and

scholarships are given out every

year.

*Memorial statue erected in

Harbour Grace, Newfoundland

(2007).

*

* March 1937—Amelia honoured by the Zonta Club of Fresno when members plant a California oak as their contribution to a tree-planting dedicatory ceremony.

* April 1938—Zonta clubs throughout the United States take up the project of a memorial, to be decided at the upcoming district conference in Berkeley, California.

* July 1938—400 Zonta delegates in Banff, Alberta, initiate a revolving scholarship for female engineering students interested in aeronautics.

*

* Woman's world altitude record:

14,000 feet (1922)

* First woman to fly the Atlantic

Ocean (1928)

* Speed records for 100 km [and with

500 lb (230 kg) cargo] (1931)

* First woman to fly

an autogyro (1931)

* Altitude record for autogyros:

18,415 feet (1931)

* First person to cross the U.S.A. in

an autogyro (1932)

* First woman to fly the Atlantic solo

(1932)

* First person to fly the Atlantic twice

(1932)

*

* First woman to receive the Distinguished

Flying Cross (1932)

* First woman to fly nonstop, coast-to-coast

across the U.S. (1933)

* Woman's speed transcontinental record

(1933)

* First person to fly solo between Honolulu

and Oakland, California (1935)

* First person to fly solo from Los

Angeles to Mexico City (1935)

* First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico

City to Newark, New Jersey (1935)

* Speed record for east-to-west flight from

Oakland, California, to Honolulu (1937)

* First person to fly solo from the Red

Sea to Karachi (1937)

* Earhart, Amelia. 20 Hrs., 40 Min.: Our

Flight in the Friendship. Martino Fine

Books, 2014 (first edition, 1928). ISBN-

10: 079223376X; ISBN-13: 978-0792233763.

* Earhart, Amelia. The Fun of It. Chicago

Review Press, 2006 (first edition, 1932).

ISBN-10: 091586455X; ISBN-13: 978-

0915864553.

* Earhart, Amelia. Last Flight. Trotamundas

Press, 2009 (first edition, 1937). ISBN-

10: 1906393141; ISBN-13: 978-1906393144.

*

* Backus, Jean L. Letters from Amelia 1901–1937. Boston: Beacon Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8070-6703-2.

* Blau, Melinda. Whatever Happened to Amelia Earhart? Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Contemporary Perspectives Inc., 1977. ISBN 0-8172-1057-1.

* Briand, Paul. Daughter of the Sky. New York: Duell, Sloan, Pearce, 1960. No ISBN.

* Brink, Randall. Lost Star: The Search for Amelia Earhart. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994. ISBN 978-0393026832.

* Burke, John. Winged Legend: The Story of Amelia Earhart. New York: Ballantine Books, 1971. ISBN 0-425-03304-X.

*

* Butler, Susan. East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. ISBN 0-306-80887-0.

* Chapman, Sally Putnam, with Stephanie Mansfield. Whistled Like a Bird: The Untold Story of Dorothy Putnam, George Putnam and Amelia Earhart. New York: Warner Books, 1997. ISBN 0-446-52055-1.

* Devine, Thomas E. Eyewitness: The Amelia Earhart Incident. Frederick, Colorado: Renaissance House, 1987. ISBN 0-939650-48-7.

* Fleming, Candace. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. New York: Random House, 2011. ISBN 978-0-375-84198-9.

* Garst, Shannon. Amelia Earhart: Heroine of the Skies. New York: Julian Messner, Inc., 1947. No ISBN.

* Gillespie, Ric. Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2006. ISBN 1-59114-319-5.

* Goerner, Fred. The Search for Amelia

Earhart. New York: Doubleday,

1966. ISBN 0-385-07424-7.

* Goldstein, Donald M. and Katherine V.

Dillon. Amelia: The Centennial Biography

of an Aviation Pioneer. Washington, D.C.:

Brassey's, 1997.ISBN 1-57488-134-5.

* Haynsworth, Leslie and David

Toomey. Amelia Earhart's Daughters: The

Wild and Glorious Story of American

Women Aviators from World War II to the

Dawn of the Space Age. New York:

Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1998. ISBN

0-380-72984-9.

* Kerby, Mona. Amelia Earhart: Courage in

the Sky (Women of our Time series). New

York: Puffin Books, 1990. ISBN 0-14-

034263-X.

* King, Thomas F. et al. Amelia Earhart's

Shoes. Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira

Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7591-0130-2.

* Lauber, Patricia. Lost Star: The Story of

Amelia Earhart. New York: Scholastic,

1989. ISBN 0-590-41159-4.

* Leder, Jane. Amelia Earhart (Great

Mysteries: Opposing Viewpoints). San

Diego: Greehaven Press, Inc., 1989. ISBN

0-89908-070-7.

* Long, Elgen M. and Marie K. Amelia

Earhart: The Mystery Solved. New York:

Simon & Schuster, 1999. ISBN 0-684-

86005-8.

* Loomis, Vincent V. Amelia Earhart, the

Final Story. New York: Random House,

1985. ISBN 978-0-394-53191-5.

* Lovell, Mary S. The Sound of Wings. New

York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.ISBN 0-312-

03431-8.

* Lubben, Kristen and Erin Barnett. Amelia

Earhart: Image and Icon. New York:

International Center of Photography,

2007. ISBN 978-3-86521-407-2.

* Morey, Eileen. The Importance of Amelia

Earhart. San Diego: Lucent Books,

1995. ISBN 1-56006-065-4.

* Morrissey, Muriel Earhart. Amelia

Earhart. Santa Barbara, California:

Bellerophon Books, 1992. ISBN 0-88388-

044-X.

* Morrissey, Muriel Earhart. Courage is the

Price: The Biography of Amelia Earhart.

Wichita, Kansas: McCormick-Armstrong

Publishing Division, 1963.ISBN 1-141-

40879-1.

* Pearce, Carol Ann. Amelia Earhart. New

York: Facts on File, 1988. ISBN 0-8160-

1520-1.

* Pellegrino, Anne Holtgren. World Flight:

The Amelia Trail. Ames, Iowa: The Iowa

State University Press, 1971. ISBN 0-

8138-1760-9.

* Randolph, Blythe. Amelia Earhart. New

York: Franklin Watts, 1987. ISBN 0-531-

10331-5.

* Rich, Doris L. Amelia Earhart: A

Biography. Washington, D.C.:

Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989. ISBN

1-56098-725-1.

* Safford, Laurance F. with Cameron A.

Warren and Robert R. Payne. Earhart's

Flight into Yesterday: The Facts Without

the Fiction, McLean, Virginia: Paladwr

Press, 2003. ISBN 1-888962-20-8.

* Sloate, Susan. Amelia Earhart:

Challenging the Skies. New York: Fawcett

Books, 1990. ISBN 978-0-449-90396-4.

* Strippel, Richard G. Amelia Earhart: The

Myth and the Reality. New York:

Exposition Press, 1972. ISBN 0-682-47447-

9.

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York: Franklin Watts, 1989. ISBN 0-531-

10851-1.

* Van Pelt, Lori. Amelia Earhart: The Sky's

No Limit. London: Macmillan, 2005. ISBN

978-0-7653-1061-3.

* Ware, Susan. Still Missing: Amelia

Earhart and the Search for Modern

Feminism. New York: W.W. Norton &

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