Amelia Mary Earhart ( AIR-hart; born July 24, 1897; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her life, she embraced celebrity culture and women's rights, and since her disappearance has become a cultural icon. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and she 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.
Born and raised in Atchison, Kansas, Earhart developed a passion for adventure at a young age, steadily gaining flying experience from her twenties. In 1928, Earhart became a celebrity after being the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by airplane. In 1932, Earhart became the first woman to make a nonstop solo transatlantic flight and received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1935, Earhart became a visiting faculty member at 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 throughout the 1930s. Earhart's legacy is often compared to the early career of pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, as well as to figures like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for their close friendship and lasting impact on the issue of women's causes.
In 1937, during an attempt at becoming the first woman to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe in a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra airplane, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. The two were last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on the last land stop before Howland Island. It is generally presumed that they ran out of fuel, crashed into the ocean and died near Howland Island. Nearly one year and six months after she and Noonan disappeared, Earhart was officially declared dead.
The mysterious nature of her disappearance has meant that public interest in her life remains significant. Earhart's airplane has never been found and this 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. She now has several commemorative memorials named in her honor around the United States, including a commemorative US airmail stamp, an airport, museum, bridge, cargo ship, earth-fill dam, playhouse, library, multiple roads and schools, and more. She also has a minor planet, planetary corona, and newly-discovered lunar crater named after her. Numerous films, documentaries and books have recounted her life. She is ranked ninth on Flying's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.
View More On Wikipedia.org
