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= Amelia_Earhart =
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Introduction
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Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 - disappeared July 2, 1937,
declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On
July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting
to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During
her life, Earhart embraced celebrity culture and women's rights, and
since her disappearance has become a global cultural figure. She was
the first female pilot to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean
and set many other records. She was one of the first aviators to
promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her
flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of the
Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.
Earhart was born and raised in Atchison, Kansas, and developed a
passion for adventure at a young age, steadily gaining flying
experience from her twenties. In 1928, she became a celebrity after
becoming the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by airplane.
In 1932, she became the first woman to make a nonstop solo
transatlantic flight, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
for her achievement. In 1935, she became a visiting faculty member of
Purdue University as an advisor in aeronautical engineering and a
career counselor to female students. She was a member of the National
Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
She was one of the most inspirational American figures from the late
1920s and throughout the 1930s. Her legacy is often compared to that
of the early career of pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, as well as
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for their close friendship and lasting
influence on women's causes.
In 1937, during an attempt to become the first woman to complete a
circumnavigational flight of the globe, flying a Lockheed Model 10-E
Electra airplane, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared
near Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean. The two were last
seen in Lae, New Guinea, their last land stop before Howland Island, a
very small location where they were intending to refuel. It is
generally believed that they ran out of fuel before they found Howland
Island and crashed into the ocean near their destination. Nearly one
year and six months after she and Noonan disappeared, Earhart was
officially declared dead. She would have been 41 years of age.
The mysterious nature of Earhart's disappearance has caused much
public interest in her life. Her airplane has never been found, which
has led to speculation and conspiracy theories about the outcome of
the flight. Decades after her presumed death, Earhart was inducted
into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1968 and the National
Women's Hall of Fame in 1973. Several commemorative memorials in the
United States have been named in her honor; these include a
commemorative US airmail stamp, an airport, a museum, a bridge, a
cargo ship, an earth-fill dam, a playhouse, a library, and multiple
roads and schools. She also has a minor planet, planetary corona, and
newly discovered lunar crater named after her. Numerous films,
documentaries, and books have recounted Earhart's life, and she is
ranked ninth on 'Flying''s list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.
Childhood
===========
Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas, as
the daughter of Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (1867-1930) and Amelia
"Amy" (; 1869-1962). Amelia was born in the home of her maternal
grandfather Alfred Gideon Otis (1827-1912), who was a former judge in
Kansas, the president of Atchison Savings Bank, and a leading resident
of the town. Earhart was the second child of the marriage after a
stillbirth in August 1896. She was of part-German descent; Alfred Otis
had not initially favored the marriage and was not satisfied with
Edwin's progress as a lawyer.
According to family custom, Amelia Earhart was named after her two
grandmothers Amelia Josephine Harres and Mary Wells Patton. From an
early age, Amelia was the dominant sibling while her sister Grace
Muriel Earhart (1899-1998), two years her junior, acted as a dutiful
follower. Amelia was nicknamed "Meeley" and sometimes "Millie", and
Grace was nicknamed "Pidge"; both girls continued to answer to their
childhood nicknames well into adulthood. Their upbringing was
unconventional; Amy Earhart did not believe in raising her children to
be "nice little girls". The children's maternal grandmother
disapproved of the bloomers they wore, and although Amelia liked the
freedom of movement they provided, she was sensitive to the fact the
neighborhood's girls wore dresses.
The Earhart children seemed to have a spirit of adventure and would
set off daily to explore their neighborhood. As a child, Amelia
Earhart spent hours playing with sister Pidge, climbing trees, hunting
rats with a rifle, and sledding downhill. Some biographers have
characterized the young Amelia as a tomboy. The girls kept worms,
moths, katydids and a tree toad they gathered in a growing collection.
In 1904, with the help of her uncle, Amelia Earhart constructed a
home-made ramp that was fashioned after a roller coaster she had seen
on a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, and secured it to the roof of the
family tool shed. Following Amelia's well-documented first flight, she
emerged from the broken wooden box that had served as a sled with a
bruised lip, a torn dress and a "sensation of exhilaration", saying:
"Oh, Pidge, it's just like flying!"
In 1907, Edwin Earhart's job as a claims officer for the Rock Island
Railroad led to a transfer to Des Moines, Iowa. The next year, at the
age of 10, Amelia saw her first aircraft at Iowa State Fair in Des
Moines. Their father tried to interest his daughters in taking a
flight but after looking at the rickety "flivver", Amelia promptly
asked if they could go back to the merry-go-round. She later described
the biplane as "a thing of rusty wire and wood and not at all
interesting".
Education
===========
Sisters Amelia and Grace--who from her teenage years went by her
middle name Muriel--Earhart remained with their grandparents in
Atchison while their parents moved into new, smaller quarters in Des
Moines. During this period, the Earhart girls received homeschooling
from their mother and a governess. Amelia later said she was
"exceedingly fond of reading" and spent many hours in the large family
library. In 1909, when the family was reunited in Des Moines, the
Earhart children were enrolled in public school for the first time and
Amelia, 12, entered seventh grade.
The Earhart family's finances seemingly improved with the acquisition
of a new house and the hiring of two servants but it soon became
apparent Edwin was an alcoholic. In 1914, he was forced to retire; he
attempted to rehabilitate himself through treatment but the Rock
Island Railroad never reinstated him. At about this time, Earhart's
grandmother Amelia Otis died, leaving a substantial estate that placed
her daughter's share in a trust, fearing Edwin's drinking would
exhaust the funds. The Otis house was auctioned along with its
contents; Amelia later described these events as the end of her
childhood.
In 1915, after a long search, Edwin Earhart found work as a clerk at
the Great Northern Railway in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Amelia
entered Central High School as a junior. Edwin applied for a transfer
to Springfield, Missouri, in 1915, but the current claims officer
reconsidered his retirement and demanded his job back, leaving Edwin
Earhart unemployed. Amy Earhart took her children to Chicago, where
they lived with friends. Amelia canvassed nearby high schools in
Chicago to find the best science program; she rejected the high school
nearest her home, complaining the chemistry lab was "just like a
kitchen sink". She eventually enrolled in Hyde Park High School but
spent a miserable semester for which a yearbook caption noted:
"A.E.--the girl in brown who walks alone".
Amelia Earhart graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1916.
Throughout her childhood, she had continued to aspire to a future
career; she kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about successful
women in male-dominated careers, including film direction and
production, law, advertising, management, and mechanical engineering.
She began junior college at Ogontz School in Rydal, Pennsylvania, but
did not complete her program.
Nursing career and illness
============================
During Christmas vacation in 1917, Earhart visited her sister in
Toronto, Canada, where she saw wounded soldiers returning from World
War I. After receiving training as a nurse's aide from the Red Cross,
Earhart began working with the Voluntary Aid Detachment at Spadina
Military Hospital, where her duties included food preparation for
patients with special diets and handing out prescribed medication in
the hospital's dispensary. There, Earhart heard stories from military
pilots and developed an interest in flying.
Ware, Susan. 'Still Missing: Amelia Earhart and the Search for Modern
Feminism'. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993. .
In 1918, when the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic reached Toronto, Earhart
was engaged in nursing duties that included night shifts at Spadina
Military Hospital. In early November that year, she became infected
and was hospitalized for pneumonia and maxillary sinusitis. She was
discharged in December 1918, about two months later. Her sinus-related
symptoms were pain and pressure around one eye, and copious mucus
drainage via the nostrils and throat. While staying in the hospital
during the pre-antibiotic era, Earhart had painful minor operations to
wash out the affected maxillary sinus but these procedures were not
successful and her headaches worsened. Earhart's convalescence lasted
nearly a year, which she spent at her sister's home in Northampton,
Massachusetts. Earhart passed the time reading poetry, learning to
play the banjo, and studying mechanics. Chronic sinusitis
significantly affected Earhart's flying and other activities in later
life, and sometimes she was forced to wear a bandage on her cheek to
cover a small drainage tube.
By 1919, Earhart prepared to enter Smith College, where her sister was
a student, but she changed her mind and enrolled in a course of
medical studies and other programs at Columbia University. Earhart
quit her studies a year later to be with her parents, who had reunited
in California.
Early flying experiences
==========================
In the early 1920s, Earhart and a young woman friend visited an air
fair held in conjunction with the Canadian National Exhibition in
Toronto; she said: "The interest, aroused in me, in Toronto, led me to
all the air circuses in the vicinity." One of the highlights of the
day was a flying exhibition put on by a World War I ace. The pilot saw
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."
On December 28, 1920, Earhart and her father attended an "aerial meet"
at Daugherty Field in Long Beach, California. She asked her father to
ask about passenger flights and flying lessons. of Wilshire Boulevard
and Fairfax Avenue. A 10-minute flight with Frank Hawks, who later
gained fame as an air racer, cost $10 (10). The ride with Hawkes
changed Earhart's life; she said: "By the time I had got two or three
hundred feet [60-90 m] off the ground ... I knew I had to fly."
The next month, Earhart engaged Neta Snook to be her flying
instructor. The initial contract was for 12 hours of instruction for
$500 (500). Earhart cropped her hair short in the style of other
female flyers. Six months later, in mid 1921 and against Snook's
advice, Earhart purchased a secondhand, chromium yellow Kinner Airster
biplane, which she nicknamed "The Canary". After her first successful
solo landing, she bought a new leather flying coat. Due to the newness
of the coat, she was subjected to teasing, so she aged it by sleeping
in it and staining it with aircraft oil.
On October 22, 1922, Earhart flew the Airster to an altitude of 14000
ft, setting a world record for female pilots. On May 16, 1923, Earhart
became the 16th woman in the United States to be issued a pilot's
license (#'6017') by the 'Fédération Aéronautique Internationale'
(FAI).
Financial problems and move to Massachusetts
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Throughout the early 1920s, following a disastrous investment in a
failed gypsum mine, Amelia Earhart's inheritance from her grandmother,
which her mother was now administering, steadily diminished until it
was exhausted. Consequently, with no immediate prospect of recouping
her investment in flying, Earhart sold the Canary and a second Kinner
and bought a yellow Kissel Gold Bug "Speedster", a two-seat
automobile, and named it "Yellow Peril". Simultaneously, pain from
Earhart's old sinus problem worsened, and in early 1924, she was
hospitalized for another sinus operation, which was again
unsuccessful. She tried a number of ventures that included setting up
a photography company.
Following her parents' divorce in 1924, Earhart drove her mother in
"Yellow Peril" on a transcontinental trip from California with stops
throughout the western United States and northward to Banff, Alberta,
Canada. Their journey ended in Boston, Massachusetts, where Earhart
underwent another, more-successful sinus operation. After
recuperation, she returned to Columbia University for several months
but was forced to abandon her studies and any further plans for
enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), because
her mother could no longer afford the tuition fees and associated
costs. In 1925, Earhart found employment first as a teacher, then as a
social worker at Denison House, a Boston settlement house. At this
time, she lived in Medford, Massachusetts.
When Earhart lived in Medford, she maintained her interest in
aviation, becoming a member of the American Aeronautical Society's
Boston chapter and eventually being elected its vice president. She
flew out of Dennison Airport in Quincy, helped finance the airport's
operation by investing a small sum of money, and in 1927, she flew the
first official flight out of Dennison Airport. Earhart worked as a
sales representative for Kinner Aircraft in the Boston area and wrote
local-newspaper columns promoting flying; as her local celebrity grew,
Earhart made plans to launch an organization for female flyers.
First woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1928
=================================================
In early 1928, inspired by Charles Lindbergh's successful solo
transatlantic flight in 1927, American heiress Amy Phipps Guest -
daughter of philanthropist and Andrew Carnegie's business partner
Henry Phipps Jr. - announced her intention to become the first woman
to cross the Atlantic by air. At the time, she was living in London
with her husband, former British Air Minister Frederick Guest.
Leveraging her wealth and social connections, Guest assembled a team
of aviation professionals to support her endeavour. She hired pilot
Wilmer Stultz from Williamsburg, Pennsylvania to lead the flight. In
March 1928, Stultz had made headlines for completing the first
non-stop flight from New York to Havana, accompanied by Oliver
LeBoutillier and passenger Mabel Boll, aboard the aircraft Columbia.
The previous year, Stultz had also piloted transatlantic attempts for
aviator Frances Wilson Grayson.
Guest also recruited mechanic and co-pilot Louis Gordon from Collin
County, Texas. For the aircraft, she acquired a Fokker F.VIIb
Tri-Motor from famed explorer Commander Richard E. Byrd. Byrd had
initially planned to use the plane for an Antarctic expedition, but
when his backer, Edsel Ford--son of Henry Ford--suggested using a Ford
Tri-Motor instead, Byrd agreed and sold the Fokker. Byrd would later
serve as a technical advisor for the transatlantic flight. Guest named
the plane 'Friendship' to honour the special relationship between the
United States and her new home, Great Britain.
However, upon learning of her plans, Guest's family reacted with
alarm. Her sons, Winston and Raymond, even threatened to quit Yale and
Cambridge respectively. Under family pressure, Guest reluctantly gave
up her dream of making the flight herself. Nevertheless, she remained
determined to see a woman achieve the milestone. Instead of flying,
she resolved to sponsor the project--and began searching for what she
called "the right sort of girl." The candidate would need to be a
pilot, well-educated, well-mannered, physically attractive, and
American.
In April 1928, George Palmer Putnam--the publicist and publisher of
Charles Lindbergh's best-selling autobiography "WE"--caught wind of
the planned transatlantic attempt. Curious, he met with his friend
Captain Hilton Railey and shared that he had heard Richard Byrd had
sold his plane to a mysterious buyer, and that floats were being
fitted to the Fokker at East Boston Airport. Determined to get
involved, Putnam encouraged Railey to "crash the gate" and
investigate. Railey found Wilmer Stultz in a bar and, catching him in
a talkative mood, learned of Amy Guest and the true purpose of the
newly outfitted seaplane Friendship.
Putnam and Railey resolved to take on the task of finding the "right
sort of girl" on Amy Guest's behalf. Railey reached out to his friend,
Rear Admiral Reginald R. Belknap, in Boston. After hearing the
criteria outlined by Guest, Belknap immediately replied, "Call Denison
House and ask for Amelia Earhart".
Upon receiving Railey's call, Earhart was initially skeptical, but
agreed to meet him at his office. The moment she arrived, Railey was
convinced he had found the right woman. Almost immediately, he asked
her, "How would you like to be the first woman to cross the Atlantic?"
Amelia wrote later "Under the circumstances... I couldn't say no."
However, Earhart had conditions before accepting the invitation. She
made it clear that the role of a mere passenger held no appeal to
her--she wanted the opportunity to take her turn at the controls.
Although she lacked experience with multi-engine aircraft and
non-visual instrument flying, it was agreed that, weather permitting,
she would be allowed to pilot the aircraft for a portion of the
journey.
It was written into her flight contract that Amelia Earhart would hold
the title of commander aboard 'Friendship'. She was granted final
authority over all matters of policy, procedure, personnel, and any
other issues that might arise during the mission--at least until their
arrival in London. Both Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon would serve as
her subordinates during the flight.
On June 3, 1928, after three unsuccessful attempts to take off from
the Jeffries Yacht Club in East Boston, the crew of 'Friendship' made
critical adjustments to reduce weight. Six five-gallon cans of fuel
were unloaded, and backup pilot Lou Gower voluntarily stepped down
from the crew to further lighten the aircraft. The fourth attempt
proved successful. After 67 tense seconds, 'Friendship' lifted off the
water and climbed steadily, heading north on the first leg of its
transatlantic journey to Trepassey, Newfoundland.
The 'Friendship' finally arrived at Trepassey on June 5, after poor
weather forced Wilmer Stultz to make an unexpected landing in Halifax,
Nova Scotia the day before. Earhart later described the arrival at
Trepassey as chaotic, likening it to a rodeo, with "maritime cowboys"
in small boats aggressively vying to tow the plane, nearly entangling
it in ropes and knocking crew member Slim Gordon into the water.
Stranded by relentless gales, dense fog, and mechanical setbacks, the
crew of the 'Friendship' endured nearly a fortnight of frustrating
delays. Their departure was repeatedly thwarted by unpredictable
tides, stormy seas, and sputtering engines, turning what should have
been a quick refuel stop into a test of endurance.
When dawn broke clear and brisk over Newfoundland on June 17, and
weather reports suggested marginally favourable conditions over the
Atlantic, Amelia Earhart insisted they seize the opportunity to take
off--despite objections from pilot Wilmer Stultz, who was nursing a
severe hangover. After nearly two weeks of delays, 'Friendship'
finally took to the skies.
Meanwhile, at Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, the crew of the rival
aircraft Columbia remained grounded. Captain Oliver LeBoutillier had
reunited with socialite Mabel Boll, determined to make her own mark
with a transatlantic crossing. However, LeBoutillier refused to risk
flying in the still-uncertain weather and chose to wait for clearer
skies.
Frustrated and left behind, Boll could only listen for updates as
soared eastward toward the United Kingdom. Furious and disheartened,
she accused Earhart's team of receiving preferential
treatment--claiming they had been provided with a more favourable
weather report than the one given to Columbia. The accusation was
firmly rejected by the local meteorologist, who maintained that both
crews had received identical forecasts.
Nevertheless, 'Friendship' had gained the advantage--not by deception,
but by daring.
From early in the flight, the crew encountered fog, cloud cover, and
poor visibility, forcing pilot Wilmer Stultz to rely entirely on
instrument flying. Amelia Earhart, although a licensed pilot, had no
experience with non-visual, instrument-only flying, and was therefore
unable to take the controls. Instead, she kept the flight log and
helped with navigation checks, while mechanic Louis Gordon managed
fuel and engine performance.
Several hours into the flight, they spotted the SS America, an ocean
liner under the command of Captain George Fried, roughly 75 miles
south-east of Cobh, Ireland. Hoping to confirm their position, the
crew of 'Friendship' circled the vessel. Captain Fried, recognizing
the significance of the aircraft, ordered the ship's name and location
to be chalked on the deck to assist the crew. However, before the
message could be prepared, 'Friendship' had already vanished into the
mist, continuing eastward.
Critically, the aircraft's radio had failed early in the flight,
leaving them unable to transmit or receive any messages. This failure
meant they could not confirm their course, update anyone on their
status, or receive weather updates. As a result, their arrival
location would be a complete surprise to those on the ground.
After nearly 21 hours in the air, with low fuel and limited visibility
due to persistent mist, the crew of 'Friendship' were in urgent need
of a suitable landing site. While flying along the coast of South
Wales (although they did not know their location at the time), they
identified an estuary and a nearby industrial town with a harbour as a
potential landing area. The aircraft landed in the Burry Estuary,
between the town of Burry Port and the village of Pwll, in
Carmarthenshire, Wales.
Upon landing, co-pilot Louis "Slim" Gordon climbed onto the starboard
pontoon and secured the aircraft to a large navigation buoy off the
coast of Burry Port, using rope kept on board for emergencies or for
use as a sea anchor. This improvised mooring was the only available
option in the area.
Despite their arrival following a transatlantic flight, initial local
response was minimal. A few nearby railway workers observed the
aircraft but did not approach. Eventually, Norman Fisher, a manager at
the Frickers Metal Company in Burry Port, rowed out to the plane.
Wilmer Stultz went ashore with him to make contact with their
sponsors, who were waiting in Southampton. The original intention had
been to refuel in the estuary and continue the journey to Southampton,
where the crew's sponsors--including Captain Hilton Railey and Amy
Phipps Guest--were assembled. Earhart and Gordon remained on board the
aircraft, as the crew did not consider the flight officially complete
at that point.
Several small boats approached the aircraft during this time, but
Earhart declined to go ashore, intending to do so only if the flight
continued as planned. Later that day, Captain Railey arrived in Burry
Port by seaplane, accompanied by Allen Raymond, a reporter for 'The
New York Times'. Following discussions regarding the aircraft's fuel
status, the challenging tidal conditions, and ongoing poor visibility,
the decision was made to take 'Friendship' to Burry Port Harbour. It
would be there, in the small Welsh harbour town, that Earhart's
transatlantic journey officially concluded--securing her place in
history as the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air.
'Friendship' moved under its own power from the navigation buoy to
Burry Port Harbour, where the crew were then rowed ashore. A large and
excitable crowd had gathered and local police escorted them to the
Frickers Metal Company office for safety, where the police awaited
reinforcements while the crew were served refreshments.
As the world's press descended on Burry Port, Amelia Earhart attracted
the majority of public and media attention, though she consistently
emphasized that the primary credit belonged to the pilots. When
interviewed after coming ashore, she remarked: "Bill (Wilmer Stultz)
did all the flying--had to. I was just baggage, like a sack of
potatoes ... maybe someday I'll try it alone."
Later that evening, the crew travelled by car to the Ashburnham Hotel
in nearby Pembrey, where they were able to rest and recover after
their historic journey.
The 'Friendship' departed Burry Port Harbour at approximately 11 a.m.
on 19 June 1928, beginning the final leg of its journey to
Southampton, but not without a final moment of drama. Among the
spectators that morning was Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, who--alongside
John Alcock--had completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight in
1919. Living in nearby Swansea, Whitten Brown had travelled to Burry
Port with his family to congratulate Amelia Earhart and present her
with a bouquet of flowers. A boat was dispatched to carry him out to
the 'Friendship', but unaware of his approach, the crew had already
begun their departure. As a result, a potentially historic meeting
between the first man and the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air
was narrowly missed.
At Southampton, the 'Friendship' crew were once again met by
enthusiastic crowds. Among those welcoming them was Amy Phipps
Guest--the flight's principal sponsor and owner of 'Friendship'. It
was the first time Guest and Amelia Earhart met in person.
She had changed aircraft and flew an Avro Avian 594 Avian III, SN:
R3/AV/101 that was owned by Irish aviator Lady Mary Heath, the first
woman to hold a commercial flying licence in Britain. Earhart later
acquired the aircraft and had it shipped to the United States.
American reception
====================
Upon returning to the United States, Amelia Earhart and the crew of
the 'Friendship' were met with widespread acclaim. On July 6, 1928,
they were honoured with a ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of
Heroes in New York City, a traditional celebration reserved for
national heroes. Thousands lined Broadway to celebrate the first
successful transatlantic flight by a woman.
Shortly after, the crew was received at the White House by President
Calvin Coolidge, who formally recognized their achievement. Earhart
became the focus of particular public and media attention. Despite her
limited role as a passenger during the flight, her status as the first
woman to cross the Atlantic by air captured the imagination of the
American public.
Earhart, Stultz, and Gordon we given receptions at Boston and Chicago,
where they were welcomed by civic leaders and large crowds. Earhart
received numerous awards and honors during this period.
Her modesty and charisma further endeared her to the American public,
and her fame quickly surpassed that of her fellow crew members.
The flight marked the beginning of Earhart's rise to international
prominence. With the help of publisher and publicist George Palmer
Putnam, she began a successful lecture tour and endorsed various
products. Despite her own insistence that the credit belonged to the
pilots, Earhart's visibility in the media helped redefine public
perceptions of women in aviation and paved the way for her subsequent
solo transatlantic flight in 1932.
Earhart later authored a book about the flight titled '20 Hrs. 40
Min.: Our Flight in the Friendship', with the title referencing the
duration of the transatlantic journey. However, according to the
flight log that Earhart herself maintained, the actual flight time was
20 hours and 49 minutes.
Celebrity status
==================
When Earhart became famous, the press dubbed her "Lady Lindy", because
of her physical resemblance to the famous male aviator Charles
Lindbergh and "Queen of the Air". Immediately after her return to the
United States, Earhart undertook an exhausting lecture tour in 1928
and 1929. Putnam had undertaken to heavily promote Earhart in a
campaign that included publishing a book she wrote, a series of new
lecture tours, and using pictures of her in media endorsements for
products including luggage. Wanting to contribute to support Richard
Evelyn Byrd's imminent expedition to the South Pole, Earhart accepted
a Lucky Strike cigarettes endorsement deal with the money redirected
to Byrd. After the Lucky Strike ads, 'McCall's' magazine retracted
their offer for Earhart to become their aviation editor.
The marketing campaign by both Earhart and Putnam was successful in
establishing the Earhart mystique in the public psyche. Rather than
simply endorsing the products, Earhart became involved in the
promotions, especially in women's fashions. The "active living" lines
that were sold in stores such as Macy's were an expression of
Earhart's new image. Her concept of simple, natural lines matched with
wrinkle-proof, washable materials was the embodiment of a sleek,
purposeful, but feminine "A.E.", the familiar name she used with
family and friends. Celebrity endorsements helped Earhart finance her
flying.
Promoting aviation
====================
Earhart accepted a position as associate editor at 'Cosmopolitan' and
used it to campaign for greater public acceptance of aviation,
especially focusing on the role of women entering the field. In 1929,
Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) appointed Earhart and Margaret
Bartlett Thornton to promote air travel, particularly for women, and
Earhart helped set up the Ludington Airline, the first regional
shuttle service between New York and Washington, D.C. Earhart was
appointed Vice President of National Airways, which operated
Boston-Maine Airways and several other airlines in the northeastern
US, and by 1940 had become Northeast Airlines. In 1934, Earhart
interceded on behalf of Isabel Ebel (who had helped Earhart in 1932)
to be accepted as the first woman student of aeronautical engineering
at New York University (NYU).
Competitive flying
====================
In August 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the
North American continent and back. Her piloting skills and
professionalism gradually grew, and she was acknowledged by
experienced professional pilots who flew with her. General Leigh Wade,
who flew with Earhart in 1929, said: "She was a born flier, with a
delicate touch on the stick."
Earhart made her first attempt at competitive air racing in 1929
during the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland Women's Air Derby
(nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by Will Rogers), which left Santa
Monica, California, on August 18 and arrived at Cleveland, Ohio, on
August 26. During the race, Earhart settled into fourth place in the
"heavy planes" division. At the second-to-last stop at Columbus,
Earhart's friend Ruth Nichols, who was in third place, had an
accident; her aircraft hit a tractor and flipped over, forcing her out
of the race. At Cleveland, Earhart was placed third in the heavy
division.
In 1930, Earhart became an official of the National Aeronautic
Association, and in this role, she promoted the establishment of
separate women's records and was instrumental in persuading the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) to accept a similar
international standard. On April 8, 1931, Earhart set a world altitude
record of 18415 ft flying a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro she borrowed from
the Beech-Nut Chewing Gum company.
During this period, Earhart became involved with Ninety-Nines, an
organization of female pilots providing moral support and advancing
the cause of women in aviation. In 1929, following the Women's Air
Derby, Earhart called a meeting of female pilots. She suggested the
name based on the number of the charter members, and became the
organization's first president in 1930. Earhart was a vigorous
advocate for female pilots; when the 1934 Bendix Trophy Race banned
women from competing, Earhart refused to fly screen actor Mary
Pickford to Cleveland to open the race.
Marriage to George Putnam
===========================
Earhart married her public relations manager George P. Putnam on
February 7, 1931, in Putnam's mother's house in Noank, Connecticut, in
what has been described as a marriage of convenience. Earhart had been
engaged to Samuel Chapman, a chemical engineer from Boston, but she
broke off the engagement on November 23, 1928. Putnam, who was known
as GP, was divorced in 1929 and sought out Earhart, proposing to her
six times before she agreed to marry him. Earhart referred to her
marriage as a "partnership" with "dual control"; in a letter to Putnam
and hand-delivered to him on the day of the wedding, she wrote:
I want you to understand I shall not hold you to any midaevil code of
faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly
... I may have to keep some place where I can go to be by myself, now
and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the
confinement of even an attractive cage.
Earhart's ideas on marriage were liberal for the time; she believed in
equal responsibilities for both breadwinners and kept her own name
rather than being referred to as "Mrs. Putnam". When 'The New York
Times' referred to her as "Mrs. Putnam", she laughed it off. Putnam
also learned he would be called "Mr. Earhart". There was no honeymoon
for the couple because Earhart was involved in a nine-day,
cross-country tour promoting autogyros and the tour's sponsor
Beech-Nut chewing gum. Earhart and Putnam never had children but
Putnam had two sons--the explorer and writer David Binney Putnam
(1913-1992), and George Palmer Putnam Jr. (1921-2013)--from his
previous marriage to Dorothy Binney (1888-1982), an heir to her
father's chemical company Binney & Smith.
Transatlantic solo flight in 1932
===================================
On May 20, 1932, 34-year-old Earhart set off from Harbour Grace,
Newfoundland, with a copy of the 'Telegraph-Journal', given to her by
journalist Stuart Trueman to confirm the date of the flight. She
intended to fly to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5B to
emulate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight five years earlier. Her
technical advisor for the flight was the Norwegian-American aviator
Bernt Balchen, who helped prepare her aircraft and played the role of
"decoy" for the press because he was ostensibly preparing Earhart's
Vega for his own Arctic flight. After a flight lasting 14 hours, 56
minutes, during which she contended with strong northerly winds, icy
conditions and mechanical problems, Earhart landed in a pasture at
Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. The landing was witnessed
by Cecil King and T. Sawyer. When a farm hand asked, "Have you flown
far?" Earhart replied, "From America."
As the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, Earhart
received the Distinguished Flying Cross from Congress, the Cross of
Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French Government, and the Gold
Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Herbert
Hoover. As her fame grew, Earhart developed friendships with many
people in high office, most notably First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who
shared many of Earhart's interests, especially women's causes. After
flying with Earhart, Roosevelt obtained a student permit but did not
further pursue her plans to learn to fly. Earhart and Roosevelt
frequently communicated with each other. Another flyer, Jacqueline
Cochran, who was said to be Earhart's rival, also became her
confidante during this period.
Additional solo flights
=========================
On January 11, 1935, Earhart became the first aviator to fly solo from
Honolulu, Hawaii, to Oakland, California. This time, Earhart used a
Lockheed 5C Vega. Although many aviators had attempted this flight,
including the participants in the 1927 Dole Air Race, which flew the
opposite direction, and resulted in three deaths, Earhart's flight was
mainly routine with no mechanical breakdowns. In her final hours, she
relaxed and listened to "the broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera from
New York".
On April 19, 1935, using her Lockheed Vega aircraft that she had named
"old Bessie, the fire horse", Earhart flew solo from Los Angeles to
Mexico City. Earhart's next record attempt was a nonstop flight from
Mexico City to New York. After she set off on May 8, her flight was
uneventful, although large crowds that greeted her at Newark, New
Jersey, were a concern, because she had to be careful not to taxi into
them.
Earhart again participated in the 1935 Bendix Trophy long-distance air
race, finishing fifth, the best result she could manage because her
stock Lockheed Vega, whose maximum speed was 195 mi/h, was outclassed
by purpose-built aircraft that reached more than 300 mi/h. The race
had been difficult because a competitor, Cecil Allen, died in a fire
at takeoff, and Jacqueline Cochran was forced to pull out due to
mechanical problems. In addition, "blinding fog" and violent
thunderstorms plagued the race.
Between 1930 and 1935, Earhart set seven women's speed-and-distance
aviation records in a variety of aircraft, including the Kinner
Airster, Lockheed Vega, and Pitcairn Autogiro. By 1935, recognizing
the limitations of her "lovely red Vega" in long, transoceanic
flights, Earhart contemplated a new "prize ... one flight which I most
wanted to attempt--a circumnavigation of the globe as near its
waistline as could be." For the new venture, she would need a new
aircraft.
Move from New York to California
==================================
In late November 1934, while Earhart was away on a speaking tour, a
fire broke out at the Putnam residence in Rye, destroying many family
treasures and Earhart's personal mementos. Putnam had already sold his
interest in the New York-based publishing company to his cousin Palmer
Putnam. Following the fire, the couple decided to move to the west
coast, where Putnam took up his new position as head of the editorial
board of Paramount Pictures in North Hollywood.
At Earhart's urging, in June 1935, Putnam purchased a small house in
Toluca Lake, a San Fernando Valley celebrity enclave community between
the Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures studio complexes, where
they had earlier rented a temporary residence.
In September 1935, Earhart and Paul Mantz established a business
partnership they had been considering since late 1934, and established
the short-lived Earhart-Mantz Flying School, which Mantz controlled
and operated through his aviation company United Air Services, which
was based at Burbank Airport. Putnam handled publicity for the school,
which primarily taught instrument flying using Link Trainers. Also in
1935, Earhart joined Purdue University as a visiting faculty member to
counsel women on careers and as a technical advisor to its Department
of Aeronautics.
Planning
==========
Early in 1936, Earhart started planning to fly around the world; if
she succeeded, she would become the first woman to do so. Although
others had flown around the world, Earhart's flight would be the
longest at 29,000 miles (47,000 km) because it followed a roughly
equatorial route. Earhart planned to court publicity along the route
to increase interest in a planned book about the expedition.
Purdue University established the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical
Research and gave $50,000 (50000) to fund the purchase of a Lockheed
Electra 10E airplane. In July 1936, Lockheed Aircraft Company built
the airplane, which was fitted with extra fuel tanks and other
extensive modifications. Earhart dubbed the twin-engine monoplane her
"flying laboratory". The plane was built at Lockheed's plant in
Burbank, California, and after delivery, it was hangared at the nearby
Mantz's United Air Services.
Earhart chose Harry Manning as her navigator; he had been the captain
of the , the ship that had transported Earhart from Europe in 1928.
Manning was also a pilot and a skilled radio operator who knew Morse
code.
The original plan was a two-person crew: Earhart would fly and Manning
would navigate. During a flight across the US that included Earhart,
Manning, and Putnam, Earhart flew using landmarks; she and Putnam knew
where they were. Manning did a navigation fix that alarmed Putnam,
because Manning made a minor navigational error that put them in the
wrong state; they were flying close to the state line, but Putnam was
still concerned. Sometime later, Putnam and Mantz arranged a night
flight to test Manning's navigational skill. Under poor navigational
conditions, Manning's position was off by 20 miles. Elgen M. and Marie
K. Long considered Manning's performance reasonable, because it was
within an acceptable error of 30 miles, but Mantz and Putnam wanted a
better navigator.
Through contacts in the Los Angeles aviation community, Fred Noonan
was chosen as a second navigator, because there were significant
additional factors that had to be dealt with while using celestial
navigation for aircraft. Noonan, a licensed ship's captain, was
experienced in both marine and flight navigation; he had recently left
Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), where he established most of the
company's China Clipper seaplane routes across the Pacific. Noonan had
also been responsible for training Pan American's navigators to fly
the route between San Francisco and Manila. Under the original plans,
Noonan would navigate from Hawaii to Howland Island--a difficult
portion of the flight--then Manning would continue with Earhart to
Australia, and she would proceed on her own for the remainder of the
project.
Abandoned first attempt
=========================
On March 17, 1937, Earhart and her crew set out on the first leg of
her round-the-world flight, but they abandoned this attempt after a
non-fatal crash that damaged the aircraft. The first leg of this
attempt was between Oakland, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. The
crew were Earhart, Noonan, Manning, and Mantz, who was acting as
Earhart's technical advisor. The propeller hubs' variable pitch
mechanisms had problems, so the aircraft was taken to the U.S. Navy's
Luke Field facility at Pearl Harbor for servicing. The flight resumed
three days later from Luke Field, with Earhart, Noonan and Manning on
board. The next destination was Howland Island, a small island in the
Pacific. Manning, the radio operator, had made arrangements to use
radio direction finding to home in to the island. The flight never
left Luke Field; during the takeoff run, there was an uncontrolled
ground-loop, the forward landing gear collapsed, both propellers hit
the ground, and the plane skidded on its belly. The cause of the crash
is not known; some witnesses at Luke Field, including an Associated
Press journalist, said they saw a tire blow. Earhart earlier thought
the Electra's right tire had blown and the right landing gear had
collapsed. Some sources, including Mantz, cited an error by Earhart.
With the aircraft severely damaged, the attempt was abandoned and the
aircraft was shipped to Lockheed Burbank, California, for repairs.
Second attempt
================
While the Electra was being repaired, Earhart and Putnam secured
additional funds and prepared for a second attempt, in which they
would fly west to east. The second attempt began with an unpublicized
flight from Oakland to Miami, Florida, and after arriving there,
Earhart announced her plans to circumnavigate the globe. The flight's
opposite direction was partly the result of changes in global
wind-and-weather patterns along the planned route since the earlier
attempt.
Manning, the only skilled radio operator, had left the crew, which now
consisted of Noonan and Earhart. The pair departed Miami on June 1 and
after numerous stops in South America, Africa, the Indian
subcontinent, and Southeast Asia, arrived at Lae, New Guinea, on June
29, 1937. At this stage, about 22,000 miles (35,000 km) of the journey
had been completed. The remaining 7,000 miles (11,000 km) would be
over the Pacific.
Earhart's 1937 flight route
!width=12em| Date !! Departure city!! Arrival city !! Nautical miles
!! Notes
Oakland, California Burbank, California 283
May 21, 1937 Burbank, California Tucson, Arizona 393
May 22, 1937 Tucson, Arizona New Orleans, Louisiana 1070
Arrived at Lakefront Airport
May 23, 1937 New Orleans, Louisiana Miami, Florida 586 Arrived
at Miami Municipal Airport.
June 1, 1937 Miami, Florida San Juan, Puerto Rico 908
June 2, 1937 San Juan, Puerto Rico Caripito, Venezuela 492
Out of Isla Grande Airport
June 3, 1937 Caripito, Venezuela Paramaribo, Surinam 610
June 4, 1937 Paramaribo, Surinam Fortaleza, Brazil 1142
June 5, 1937 Fortaleza, Brazil Natal, Brazil 235
June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil Saint-Louis, French West Africa (now
Senegal) 1727 Transatlantic flight
June 8, 1937 Saint-Louis, Fr.W. Africa Dakar, Fr.W. Africa (now
Senegal) 100
June 10, 1937 Dakar, Fr.W. Africa Gao, French Sudan 1016
June 11, 1937 Gao, French Sudan Fort-Lamy, French Equatorial
Africa (now N'Djamena, Chad) 910
June 12, 1937 Fort-Lamy, Fr.Eq. Africa El Fasher, Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan 610
June 13, 1937 El Fasher, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Khartoum,
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 437
June 13, 1937 Khartoum, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Massawa, Italian
East Africa (now Eritrea) 400
June 14, 1937 Massawa, Italian East Africa Assab, Italian East
Africa (now Eritrea) 241
June 15, 1937 Assab, Italian East Africa Karachi, British India
1627 First ever non-stop flight from the Red Sea to India
June 17, 1937 Karachi, British India Calcutta, British India
1178
June 18, 1937 Calcutta, British India Akyab, Burma 291
June 19, 1937 Akyab, Burma Rangoon, Burma 268
June 20, 1937 Rangoon, Burma Bangkok, Siam 315
Bangkok, Siam Singapore, Straits Settlements 780
June 21, 1937 Singapore, Straits Settlements Bandoeng, Dutch East
Indies (now Indonesia) 541
June 25, 1937 Bandoeng, Dutch East Indies Soerabaia, Dutch East
Indies (now Indonesia) 310 Delayed due to monsoon
June 25, 1937 Soerabaia, Dutch East Indies Bandoeng, Dutch East
Indies 310 Returned for repairs, Earhart ill with dysentery
June 26, 1937 Bandoeng, Dutch East Indies Soerabaia, Dutch East
Indies 310
June 27, 1937 Soerabaia, Dutch East Indies Koepang, Dutch East
Indies (now Indonesia) 668
June 28, 1937 Koepang, Dutch East Indies Darwin, Australia 445
Direction finder repaired, parachutes removed and sent home
June 29, 1937 Darwin, Australia Lae, New Guinea (now Papua New
Guinea) 1012
July 2, 1937 Lae, New Guinea Howland Island, American Equatorial
Islands 2223 Did not arrive
July 3, 1937 Howland Island Honolulu, Hawaii 1900 Planned leg
July 4, 1937 Honolulu, Hawaii Oakland, California 2400
Planned leg
Flight between Lae and Howland Island
=======================================
On July 2, 1937, at 10:00 am local time (12:00 am GMT), Earhart and
Noonan took off from Lae Airfield in the heavily loaded Electra. Their
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 2556 mi away.
The expected flying time was about 20 hours; accounting for the
two-hour time-zone difference between Lae and Howland, and the
crossing of the International Date Line, the aircraft was expected to
arrive at Howland the morning of the next day, 2 July. The aircraft
departed Lae with about 1100 USgal of gasoline.
In preparation for the trip to Howland Island, the U.S. Coast Guard
had sent the cutter to the island to offer communication and
navigation support for the flight. The cutter was to communicate with
Earhart's aircraft via radio, transmit a homing signal to help the
aviators locate Howland Island, use radio direction-finding (RDF), and
use the cutter's boilers to create a dark column of smoke that could
be seen over the horizon. All of the navigation methods failed to
guide Earhart to Howland Island.
Around 3 pm Lae time, Earhart reported her altitude as , but that they
would reduce altitude due to thick clouds. Around 5 pm, Earhart
reported her altitude as and speed as . During Earhart's and Noonan's
approach to Howland Island, 'Itasca' received strong, clear voice
transmissions from Earhart identifying as KHAQQ, but she was unable to
hear voice transmissions from the ship.
The first calls received from Earhart were routine reports stating the
weather was cloudy and overcast at 2:45 am and just before 5 am on
July 2. These calls were broken up by static, but at this point, the
aircraft was a long distance from Howland. At 6:14 am, another call
was received stating that the aircraft was within 200 miles and
requesting that the ship use its direction finder to provide a bearing
for the aircraft. Earhart began whistling into the microphone to
provide a continuous signal for the ship's crew to use. At this point,
the radio operators on 'Itasca' realized their RDF system could not
tune into the aircraft's signal on 3105 kHz; radioman Leo Bellarts
later commented he "was sitting there sweating blood because I
couldn't do a darn thing about it". A similar call asking for a
bearing was received at 6:45 am, when Earhart estimated they were 100
miles away.
An 'Itasca' radio log at 7:30-7:40 am states the aircraft had only a
half hour of fuel remaining. A further radio log states they thought
they were near 'Itasca' but could not locate it and were flying at .
In her transmission at 7:58 am, Earhart said she could not hear
'Itasca' and asked them to send voice signals so she could try to take
a radio bearing. 'Itasca' reported this signal as the loudest possible
signal, indicating Earhart and Noonan were in the immediate area. The
ship could not send voice at the frequency she asked for so they sent
Morse code signals instead. Earhart acknowledged receiving these but
said she was unable to determine their direction.
The last voice transmission received on Howland Island from Earhart
indicated she and Noonan were flying along a line of position running
north-to-south on 157-337 degrees, which Noonan would have calculated
and drawn on a chart as passing through Howland. After all contact
with Howland Island was lost, attempts to reach the flyers with voice
and Morse code transmissions were made. Operators across the Pacific
and in the United States may have heard signals from the Electra but
these were weak or unintelligible.
A series of misunderstandings, errors or mechanical failures are
likely to have occurred on the final approach to Howland Island.
Noonan had earlier written about problems affecting the accuracy of
RDF in navigation. Another cited cause of possible confusion was that
'Itasca' and Earhart planned their communication schedule using time
systems set a half-hour apart; Earhart was using Greenwich Civil Time
(GCT) and 'Itasca' was using a Naval time-zone designation system.
Sources have noted Earhart's apparent lack of familiarity with her
direction-finding system, which had been fitted to the aircraft just
prior to the flight. The system was equipped with a new receiver from
Bendix Corporation. Earhart's only training on the system was a brief
introduction by Joe Gurr at the Lockheed factory. A card displaying
the antenna's band settings was mounted so it was not visible. The
Electra expected 'Itasca' to transmit signals the Electra could use as
an RDF beacon to find the ship. In theory, the plane could listen for
the signal while rotating its loop antenna; a sharp minimum indicates
the direction of the RDF beacon. The Electra's RDF equipment had
failed due to a blown fuse during an earlier leg flying to Darwin; the
fuse was replaced. Near Howland, Earhart could hear the transmission
from 'Itasca' on 7500 kHz, but she was unable to determine a minimum
so she could not determine a direction to the ship. Earhart was also
unable to determine a minimum during an RDF test at Lae.
Disappearance
===============
The U.S. government investigated the aircraft's disappearance and, in
its report, concluded Earhart's plane ran out of fuel and crashed into
the ocean. During the 1970s, retired United States Navy (USN) captain
Laurance Safford began a lengthy analysis of the flight. His research
included the intricate radio-transmission documentation. Safford
concluded the flight had suffered from poor planning and worse
execution.
Many researchers believe Earhart and Noonan died during or shortly
after the crash. In 1982, retired USN rear admiral Richard R. Black,
who was in administrative charge of the Howland Island airstrip and
was present in the radio room on 'Itasca', said: "the Electra went
into the sea about 10 am, July 2, 1937, not far from Howland."
Earhart's stepson George Palmer Putnam Jr. has said he believes "the
plane just ran out of gas".Kleinberg, Eliot.
[
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.obituaries/8-SuGX6ATRg
"Amelia Earhart's disappearance still haunts her stepson, 83."] 'Palm
Beach Post', December 27, 2004. accessed: July 1, 2013. According to
Earhart biographer Susan Butler, the aircraft went into the ocean out
of sight of Howland Island and rests on the seafloor at a depth of
17000 ft. Tom D. Crouch, senior curator of the National Air and Space
Museum, has said the Electra is "18,000 ft. down" and compared its
archaeological significance to that of 'RMS Titanic'.
British aviation historian Roy Nesbit interpreted evidence in
contemporary accounts and Putnam's correspondence and concluded
Earhart's Electra was not fully fueled at Lae. William L. Polhemous,
the navigator on Ann Pellegreno's 1967 flight that followed Earhart
and Noonan's original flight path, studied navigational tables for
July 2, 1937, and thought Noonan may have miscalculated the "single
line approach" to Howland.
Search efforts
================
Beginning approximately one hour after Earhart's last recorded
message, 'Itasca' undertook an unsuccessful search north and west of
Howland Island based on initial assumptions about transmissions from
the aircraft and Earhart's account of weather conditions. The U.S.
Navy joined the search and over about three days sent available
resources to the search area near Howland Island. Official search
efforts lasted until July 19, 1937. At $4 million (equivalent to $4
million in ), the air-and-sea search by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard
was the costliest and most intensive in U.S. history up to that time.
Despite the unprecedented search, no physical evidence of Earhart,
Noonan, or the Electra 10E was found.
On the mornings of July 3 and July 6, 1937, an Oakland radio amateur
was reported to have heard emergency transmissions, seemingly from
Earhart. In the days after their last confirmed transmissions, further
transmissions purporting to be from Earhart were reported, many of
which were determined to be hoaxes. The captain of later said: "There
was no doubt many stations were calling the Earhart plane on the
plane's frequency, some by voice and others by signals. All of these
added to the confusion and doubtfulness of the authenticity of the
reports."
Immediately after the end of the official search, Putnam financed a
private search by local authorities of nearby Pacific islands and
waters. In late July 1937, Putnam chartered two small boats and, while
he remained in the United States, directed a search of other islands.
Putnam acted to become the trustee of Earhart's estate so he could pay
for the searches and related bills. In probate court in Los Angeles,
Putnam asked to have the "declared death 'in absentia'" seven-year
waiting period waived so he could manage Earhart's finances. As a
result, Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939.
In 2003 and 2006, David Jourdan extensively searched a 1200 sqmi area
north and west of Howland Island with deep-sea sonar devices. The
searches cost $4.5 million but did not find any wreckage. The search
locations were derived from the line of position (157-337) broadcast
by Earhart on July 2, 1937.
In 2019, Robert Ballard led an expedition around Nikumaroro Island to
locate wreckage of Earhart's plane and did not find any evidence of
it.
In 2024, Tony Romeo funded and coordinated an expedition around
Howland Island to find Earhart's plane and did not find any evidence
of it.
Speculation on disappearance
======================================================================
While most historians believe Earhart crashed and sank in the Pacific
Ocean, a number of other possibilities have been proposed, including
several conspiracy theories. The Gardner Island hypothesis supposes
Earhart and Noonan were unable to find Howland Island and continued
south. Gardner island, one of the Phoenix Islands that is now known as
Nikumaroro, has been the subject of inquiry as a possible
crash-landing site but, despite numerous expeditions, no link between
Earhart and the island has ever been found.
The Japanese capture theory assumes Japanese forces captured Earhart
and Noonan after they navigated to the Japanese South Seas Mandate. A
number of Earhart's relatives have been convinced the Japanese were
somehow involved in her disappearance, citing unnamed witnesses
including Japanese troops and Saipan natives.
The New Britain theory assumes Earhart turned back mid-flight and
tried to reach the airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, northeast of
mainland Papua New Guinea, approximately 2200 mi from Howland Island.
In 1990, Donald Angwin, a veteran of the Australian Army's World War
II New Britain campaign, reported that in 1945 he had seen a wrecked
aircraft in the jungle that may have been Earhart's Electra.
Subsequent searches of the area failed to find any wreckage.
In November 2006, National Geographic Channel aired an episode of its
series 'Undiscovered History' that supposed Earhart survived the world
flight, changed her name, remarried, and became Irene Craigmile Bolam.
This claim had originally been published in the book 'Amelia Earhart
Lives' (1970), which is based on the research of Joseph Gervais.
Shortly after the book's publication, Bolam filed a lawsuit requesting
$1.5 million in damages (equivalent to $1.5 million in ) and the
book's publisher McGraw-Hill withdrew it from the market; court
records indicate the company reached an out-of-court settlement with
her. The book has since gone back into print.
Legacy
======================================================================
During her life, Earhart embraced celebrity culture and women's
rights, and since her disappearance, she has become a global cultural
icon. Countless tributes and memorials have been made in Amelia
Earhart's name, including a 2012 tribute by U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, who said at a State Department event celebrating the
ties of Earhart and the United States to its Pacific neighbors:
"Earhart ... created a legacy that resonates today for anyone, girls
and boys, who dreams of the stars". In 2013, 'Flying' magazine ranked
Earhart No. 9 on its list of the "51 Heroes of Aviation".
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.
Earhart's accomplishments in aviation inspired a generation of female
aviators, including more-than 1,000 female pilots of the Women
Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), who served during World War II.
The home where Earhart was born is now the Amelia Earhart Birthplace
Museum and is maintained by Ninety-Nines, an international group of
female pilots of which Earhart was the first elected president. The
Amelia Earhart Festival has taken place in Atchison, Kansas, every
year since 1996.
Tributary flights
===================
In 1967, Ann Pellegreno flew a similar aircraft to Earhart's, a
Lockheed 10A Electra, to complete a round-the-world flight that
followed Earhart's flight plan. On the 30th anniversary of her
disappearance, Pellegreno dropped a wreath over Howland island in
Earhart's honor.
In 1997, on the 60th anniversary of Earhart's round-the-world flight,
San Antonio businesswoman Linda Finch retraced the final flight path,
flying a restored 1935 Lockheed Electra 10, the same make and model of
aircraft as Earhart's.
In 2001, another commemorative flight retraced the route Earhart flew
in her August 1928 transcontinental record flight; Carlene Mendieta
flew an original Avro Avian, the same type of aircraft that was used
in 1928.
Buildings and structures
==========================
In 1942, a United States Liberty ship named was launched; it was
wrecked in 1948. 'USNS Amelia Earhart' was named in her honor in May
2007.
In 1964, Purdue University opened Earhart Hall in honor of her legacy
and contribution to the university during her time as a career
counselor for female students and technical advisor for the
aeronautics department. In 2009, Purdue erected a bronze statue of
Earhart holding a propeller in front of the residence hall named after
her. The university board recently approved plans to name the new
Purdue University Airport terminal the Amelia Earhart Terminal.
The Earhart Light, also known as the Amelia Earhart Light, is a
navigational day beacon on Howland Island, where she was due to land
before she went missing. It is no longer operational. Amelia Earhart
Airport in Atchison, Kansas, was named in her honor.
Amelia Earhart Dam on Mystic River in eastern Massachusetts is named
in her honor. The "Earhart Tree" on Banyan Drive in Hilo, Hawaii, was
planted by Earhart in 1935.
Other tributes
================
The Amelia Earhart Commemorative Stamp (8¢ airmail postage) was issued
in 1963 by the United States Postmaster-General.
Earhart was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in
1992.
A full-sized bronze statue of Amelia Earhart was placed at the Spirit
of Flight Center in Lafayette, Colorado, in 2008. A statue by Ernest
Shelton was erected circa 1971 in Los Angeles, California.
A small section of Earhart's Lockheed Electra starboard engine nacelle
that was recovered following the March 1937 Hawaii crash has been
confirmed as authentic and is now regarded as a control piece that
will help authenticate possible future discoveries.
The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established by Zonta International
in 1938. It awards US$10,000 annually to up to 30 women pursuing Ph.D.
degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. Since the
program's inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,764 Amelia Earhart
Fellowships, totaling more than US$11.9 million, to 1,335 women from
79 countries.
In popular culture
======================================================================
Amelia Earhart's life has been the subject of many writers; the
following collection of examples make no claims of completeness:
Novels and plays
==================
*In the 2021 alternate history novella 'Or Even Eagle Flew' by Harry
Turtledove, Earhart does not go missing in 1937 and later joins the
Eagle Squadrons of the British Royal Air Force to fight against the
Nazis in World War II.
*The events surrounding Earhart and Noonan's disappearance are
dramatized in the 1996 novel 'I Was Amelia Earhart' by Jane
Mendelsohn.
*In 2011, the Great Canadian Theatre Company hosted a musical play
titled 'Amelia: The Girl Who Wants To Fly'. This is one of numerous
plays on the subject.
Film and television
=====================
*The Rosalind Russell film 'Flight for Freedom' (1943) was derived
from a treatment of "Stand by to Die", a fictionalized treatment of
Earhart's life.
*"Amelia Earhart: The Price of Courage" (1993) is an 'American
Experience' television documentary.
*'Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight' (1994) starring Diane Keaton,
Rutger Hauer, and Bruce Dern, was initially released as a television
movie and subsequently rereleased as a theatrical feature.
*The events surrounding Earhart and Noonan's disappearance are
dramatized in the science fiction television show 'Star Trek:
Voyager', episode "The 37's" (1995), with Sharon Lawrence portraying
Earhart.
*In the biopic film 'Amelia' (2009), Earhart is portrayed by Hilary
Swank.
*In the 2009 American fantasy comedy film 'Night at the Museum: Battle
of the Smithsonian' Earhart is portrayed by Amy Adams.
Music
=======
*Plainsong released a tribute album, 'In Search of Amelia Earhart'
(Elektra K42120), in 1972. Both the album and the Press Pak released
by Elektra have become collectables and have gained a cult status.
*Singer Joni Mitchell's song "Amelia" appears on her album 'Hejira'
(1976) and it also features in the video of her 1980 live album
'Shadows and Light' (1980) with clips of Earhart. Commenting on the
origins of the song, which interweaves the story of a desert journey
with aspects of Earhart's disappearance, Mitchell said: "I was
thinking of Amelia Earhart and addressing it from one solo pilot to
another ... sort of reflecting on the cost of being a woman and having
something you must do".
*The 2024 Public Service Broadcasting album 'The Last Flight' tells
the story of Earhart's final flight.
Other
=======
*Lego produced a limited run of Amelia's "Little Red Bus" Lego Model
Number 40450.
*Earhart was one of several inspiring women who are represented in a
line of Barbie dolls introduced on March 6, 2018.
*'Team Fortress 2' features Amelia Earhart in their comic A Cold Day
in Hell. The mercenaries find her plane crashed in Sibera.
*Earhart was profiled in the National Portrait Gallery's exhibit, ONE
LIFE: Amelia Earhart.
Records and achievements
======================================================================
* Woman's world altitude record: 14,000 ft (1922)
* First woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean (1928)
* Speed records for 100 km (and with 500 lb cargo) (1931)
* First woman to fly an autogyro (1931)
* Altitude record for autogyros: 18,415 ft (1931)
* First woman to cross the United States in an autogyro (1931)
* 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. (1932)
* Women'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 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, Hawaii (1937)
* First person to fly solo from the Red Sea to Karachi (1937)
Books by Earhart
======================================================================
Earhart was a successful and heavily promoted writer who served as
aviation editor for 'Cosmopolitan' from 1928 to 1930. She wrote
magazine articles, newspaper columns, and essays, and published two
books based upon her experiences as a flyer during her lifetime:
* '20 Hrs. 40 Min.' (1928) is a journal of her experiences as the
first woman passenger on a transatlantic flight.
* 'The Fun of It' (1932) is a memoir of her flying experiences and an
essay on women in aviation.
* 'Last Flight' (1937) features the periodic journal entries she sent
to the United States during her round-the-world flight attempt, and
was published in newspapers in the weeks prior to her departure from
New Guinea. The journal was compiled by Earhart's husband GP Putnam
after her disappearance over the Pacific. Many historians consider
this book to be only partially Earhart's original work.
See also
======================================================================
* 99s Museum of Women Pilots
* Amelia Earhart Park
* Amy Johnson
* Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
* Aviation archaeology
* Coast Guard Air Station Miami
* Cornelia Fort
* Douglas Corrigan
* Elsie Mackay
* Eugene Luther Vidal
* Frances Wilson Grayson
* Harriet Quimby
* Jerrie Mock
* List of female explorers and travelers
* List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
* Nancy Harkness Love
Works cited
=============
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* Lubben, Kristen and Erin Barnett. 'Amelia Earhart: Image and Icon'.
New York: International Center of Photography, 2007. .
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* Morrissey, Muriel Earhart. 'Amelia Earhart'. Santa Barbara,
California: Bellerophon Books, 1992. .
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* Pellegrino, Anne Holtgren. 'World Flight: The Amelia Trail'. Ames,
Iowa: The Iowa State University Press, 1971. .
*
* 'The Radio Amateur's Handbook'. West Hartford, Connecticut: American
Radio Relay League, 1945. No ISBN.
*
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* 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. .
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Further reading
======================================================================
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* Moolman, Valerie. 'Women Aloft' (The Epic of Flight series).
Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1981. .
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External links
======================================================================
* [
http://www.ameliaearhart.com/ The Official Website of Amelia
Earhart (The Family of Amelia Earhart)]
* [
http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org/ Amelia Earhart Birthplace
Museum]
* Papers
:* [
https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/earhart Records Relating to
Amelia Earhart] - National Archives
:* [
http://www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol/aearhart/ George Palmer Putnam
Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers] at Purdue University Libraries
:*
[
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/wright:@field(DOCID+@lit(wright002423))
General Correspondence: Earhart, Amelia, 1932-1934], The Wilbur and
Orville Wright
License
=========
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License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart
