Amelia

Earhart

Born(1897-07-24)July 24, 1897Atchison, Kansas, U.S.

Disappeared

July 2, 1937 (aged 39)Pacific Ocean, en route to Howland Island

Status

Declared dead in absentiaJanuary 5, 1939(1939-01-05) (aged 41)

Nationality American

Known for

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and setting many aviation records.

Spouse George P. Putnam

Signature

Amelia Mary Earhart (/ˈɛərhɑrt/ AIR-hart; July 24, 1897 – disappeared 1937) was an American aviation pioneer and author.[1][N 1] Earhart was the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record.[4] She set many other records,[2] wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.[5] Earhart joined the faculty of the Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation.

During an attempt to make a circumnavigation flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.

Childhood

Amelia Earhart as a child

Amelia Mary Earhart, daughter of German American Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (born March 28, 1867) and Amelia "Amy" Otis Earhart (1869–1962),[9] was born in Atchison, Kansas, in the home of her maternal grandfather, Alfred Gideon Otis (1827–1912), a former federal judge, president of the Atchison Savings Bank and a leading citizen in the town. Amelia was the second child of the marriage, after an infant stillborn in August 1896.[10] Alfred Otis had not initially favored the marriage and was not satisfied with Edwin's progress as a lawyer.[11]

Early flying experiences

At about that time, with a young woman friend, Earhart visited an air fair held in conjunction with the Canadian National Exposition in Toronto. One of the highlights of the day was a flying exhibition put on by a World War I "ace."[33] The pilot overhead spotted Earhart and her friend, who were watching from an isolated clearing and dived at them. "I am sure he said to himself, 'Watch me make them scamper,'" she said. Earhart stood her ground as the aircraft came close. "I did not understand it at the time," she said, "but I believe that little red airplane said something to me as it swished by."[34]

By 1919 Earhart prepared to enter Smith College but changed her mind and enrolled at Columbia University signing up for a course in medical studies among other programs.[35] She quit a year later to be with her parents who had reunited in California.

L–R: Neta Snook and Amelia Earhart in front of Earhart's Kinner Airster, c. 1921

1928 transatlantic flightAmelia Earhart being greeted by Mrs. Foster Welch, Mayor of Southampton, June 20, 1928After Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, Amy Phipps Guest, (1873–1959), expressed interest in being the first woman to fly (or be flown) across the Atlantic Ocean. After deciding the trip was too perilous for her to undertake, she offered to sponsor the project, suggesting they find "another girl with the right image." While at work one afternoon in April 1928, Earhart got a phone call from Capt. Hilton H. Railey, who asked her, "Would you like to fly the Atlantic?"

1932 transatlantic solo flight

Amelia Earhart Museum, DerryLockheed Vega 5B flown by Amelia Earhart as seen on display at the National Air and Space Museum

Departure from Lae

On July 2, 1937, midnight GMT, Earhart and Noonan took off from Lae in the heavily loaded Electra. Their intended destination was Howland Island, a flat sliver of land 6,500 ft (2,000 m) long and 1,600 ft (500 m) wide, 10 ft (3 m) high and 2,556 miles (4,113 km) away. Their last known position report was near the Nukumanu Islands, about 800 miles (1,300 km) into the flight. The United States Coast Guard cutter Itasca was on station at Howland, assigned to communicate with Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E and guide them to the island once they arrived in the vicinity.

Final approach to Howland Island

Through a series of misunderstandings or errors (the details of which are still controversial), the final approach to Howland Island using radio navigation was not successful. Fred Noonan had earlier written about problems affecting the accuracy of radio direction finding in navigation.[N 15] Some sources have noted Earhart's apparent lack of understanding of her Bendix direction-finding loop antenna, which at the time was very new technology.

Another cited cause of possible confusion was that the USCG cutter Itasca and Earhart planned their communication schedule using time systems set a half hour apart (with Earhart using Greenwich Civil Time (GCT) and the Itasca under a Naval time zone designation system).[105]

Motion picture evidence from Lae suggests that an antenna mounted underneath the fuselage may have been torn off from the fuel-heavy Electra during taxi or takeoff from Lae's turf runway, though no antenna was reported found at Lae. Don Dwiggins, in his biography of Paul Mantz (who assisted Earhart and Noonan in their flight planning), noted that the aviators had cut off their long-wire antenna, due to the annoyance of having to crank it back into the aircraft after each use.

Radio signalsEarhart in the Electra cockpit, c. 1936During Earhart and Noonan's approach to Howland Island the Itasca received strong and clear voice transmissions from Earhart identifying as KHAQQ but she apparently was unable to hear voice transmissions from the ship. At 7:42 am on July 2, Earhart radioed "We must be on you, but cannot see you—but gas is running low. Have been unable to reach you by radio.

are flying at 1,000 feet." Her 7:58 am transmission said she couldn't hear the Itasca and asked them to send voice signals so she could try to take a radio bearing (this transmission was reported by the Itasca as the loudest possible signal, indicating Earhart and Noonan were in the immediate area). They couldn't send voice at the frequency she asked for, so Morse code signals were sent instead. Earhart acknowledged receiving these but said she was unable to determine their direction.[106]

In her last known transmission at 8:43 am Earhart broadcast "We are on the line 157 337. We will repeat this message. We will repeat this on 6210 kilocycles. Wait." However, a few moments later she was back on the same frequency (3105 kHz) with a transmission which was logged as a "questionable": "We are running on line north and south."[107]

Legacy

Earhart was a widely known international celebrity during her lifetime. Her shyly charismatic appeal, independence, persistence, coolness under pressure, courage and goal-oriented career along with the circumstances of her disappearance at a comparatively early age have driven her lasting fame in popular culture. Hundreds of articles and scores of books have been written about her life which is often cited as a motivational tale, especially for girls. Earhart is generally regarded as a feminist icon.[168]

Earhart's accomplishments in aviation inspired a generation of female aviators, including the more than 1,000 women pilots of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) who ferried military aircraft, towed gliders, flew target practice aircraft, and served as transport pilots during World War II.[169][170]

Records and achievements

Woman's world altitude record: 14,000 ft (1922)

First woman to fly the Atlantic (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: 15,000 ft (1931)

First person to cross the U.S. 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, Hawaii and Oakland, California (1935)

First person to fly solo from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City, Mexico (1935)

First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico City, Mexico to Newark, New Jersey (1935)

Speed record for east-to-west flight from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii (1937)[173

Books by Earhart•20 Hrs., 40 Min. (1928) was a journal of her experiences as the first woman passenger on a transatlantic flight.•The Fun of It (1932) was a memoir of her flying experiences and an essay on women in aviation.•Last Flight (1937) featured the periodic journal entries she sent back to the United States during her world flight attempt, published in newspapers in the weeks prior to her final departure from New Guinea. Compiled by her husband GP Putnam after she disappeared over the Pacific, many historians consider this book to be only partially Earhart's original work.