In 1897 a child was born who would touch lives for generations to come. Her grace, humility and courage would inspire poets, writers, painters, sculpters, and musicians. Her dedication and achievement would garner the attention of presidents, royalty and the media. Through it all, Amelia Earhart held firm to a core passionate belief: that women possessed the courage and intelligence to do anything they wanted. Aviation just happened to be Amelia’s expression of that belief.
It’s difficult to think of Amelia Earhart and not think of aviation. However, aside from being a world renowned pilot, she was an accomplished writer, poet, photographer, and teacher. Amelia excelled in science and spent her younger years as a nurse during World War I. In 1922 she joined her family in southern California. There she began flying lessons after her father indulged her with a five dollar airplane ride. Amelia insisted on a female instructor, Neta Snook, and began a career that would bring her international fame.
Amelia’s affair with the public began in 1928 when she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an airplane. The Friendship Flight was piloted by Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon, with Amelia as its passenger. While the media preferred to hail her as a hero, Amelia didn’t mince words and referred to herself as “baggage”.
The hungry press would finally have their story in 1932 when Amelia, in a single engine Lockheed Vega, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. In 1935, she became the first person to solo across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland. Later that year, Amelia became the first person to solo from Burbank to Mexico City. A month later, she soloed nonstop from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey. Amelia set transcontinental speed records, altitude records, and received innumerable honors, degrees, and accolades. She helped establish the first womens’ aviation organization, the 99’s, and was voted in as its first president.
Amelia proclaimed she had one last distance flight in her. With the help of navigator, Fred Noonan, she announced they would circumnavigate the earth along the equator. After 22,000 miles and one month, they approached the most treacherous segment of the route – a 2,566 mile hop across the Pacific to tiny Howland Island. On July 2, 1937 radio contact was lost. After an extensive search by the coast guard the two were officially declared lost at sea.
The mystery surrounding Amelia’s disappearance unfortunately seems to obfuscate her life achievement. Amelia was, and continues to be, a champion role model for women. To the end, she was true to her words: “If enough of us keep trying, we'll get someplace.”
