Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart endures in the American consciousness as one of the world's most celebrated aviators. Amelia remains a symbol of the power and perseverance of American women, and the adventurous spirit so essential to the American persona. Born in Atchison, Kansas on July 24, 1897, the daughter of a railroad attorney, she spent her childhood in various towns, including Atchison and Kansas City, Kansas and Des Moines, Iowa. At age 19, Amelia attended Ogontz School near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two years later, after visiting her sister, Muriel, in Toronto, Canada, Amelia felt compelled to leave school. Taking a course in Red Cross First Aid, Amelia enlisting as a nurse's aide at Spadina Military Hospital in Toronto, Canada, tending to wounded soldiers during World War I. The following year, Amelia enrolled as a premedical student at Columbia University in New York. Shortly thereafter, Amelia's parents insisted she move to California where they were living. Learning to fly in California, she took up aviation as a hobby, taking odd jobs to pay for her flying lessons. In 1922, with the financial help of her sister, Muriel, and her mother, Amy Otis Earhart, she purchased her first airplane, a Kinner Airster. Following her parent's divorce, Amelia moved back east where she was employed as a social worker in Denison House, in Boston, Massachusetts. It was there she was selected to be the first female passenger on a transatlantic flight, in 1928, by her future husband, the publisher, George Palmer Putnam. |
George P. Putnam -- Amelia's Husband
George had already published several writings by Charles Lindbergh, and he saw Amelia's flight as a bestselling story for his publishing house. With pilot Wilmer Stultz and mechanic Lou Gordon, Amelia flew from Newfoundland to Wales aboard the trimotor plane Friendship . Amelia's daring and courage were acclaimed around the world. Upon the flight's completion, Amelia wrote the book 20 Hours - 40 Minutes . In 1931, Amelia...