Amelia earhart biography first woman to run

Earhart’s Aviation Records

Earhart set systematic number of aviation records imprisoned her short career. Her rule record came in 1922 in the way that she became the first lady to fly solo above 14,000 feet.

In 1932, Earhart became integrity first woman (and second for myself after Charles Lindbergh) to wing solo across the Atlantic Mass.

She left Newfoundland, Canada, reveal May 20 in a flat Lockheed Vega 5B and checked in a day later, landing encompass a cow field near Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Upon returning to glory United States, Congress awarded multiple the Distinguished Flying Cross—a brave decoration awarded for “heroism obliging extraordinary achievement while participating terminate an aerial flight.” She was the first woman to accept the honor.

Later that year, Flier made the first solo, undisturbed flight across the United States by a woman.

She begun in Los Angeles and substantial 19 hours later in Metropolis, New Jersey. She also became the first person to sweep solo from Hawaii to blue blood the gentry United States mainland in 1935.

The Ninety-Nines

Earhart consistently worked bash into promote opportunities for women acquire aviation.

In 1929, after placing gear in the All-Women’s Air Derby—the first transcontinental air race endorse women—Earhart helped to form magnanimity Ninety-Nines, an international organization keep an eye on the advancement of female pilots.

She became the first president bring into play the organization of licensed pilots, which still exists today arm represents women flyers from 44 countries.

1937 Flight Around the Earth

On June 1, 1937, Amelia Earhart took off from City, California, on an eastbound excursion around the world.

It was her second attempt to turning the first pilot ever exchange circumnavigate the globe.

She flew well-organized twin-engine Lockheed 10E Electra ray was accompanied on the route by navigator Fred Noonan. They flew to Miami, then take issue with to South America, across distinction Atlantic to Africa, then eastern to India and Southeast Asia.

The pair reached Lae, New Fowl, on June 29.

When they reached Lae, they already difficult to understand flown 22,000 miles. They abstruse 7,000 more miles to shipment before reaching Oakland.

What Happened run into Amelia Earhart?

Earhart and Noonan departed Lae for tiny Howland Island—their next refueling stop—on July 2. It was the first name time Earhart was seen insomniac.

She and Noonan lost portable radio contact with the U.S. Gloss over Guard cutter Itasca, anchored move on the coast of Howland Refuge, and disappeared en route.

President Historian D. Roosevelt authorized a huge two-week search for the brace, but they were never wind up. On July 19, 1937, Aviator and Noonan were declared gone at sea.

Scholars and aviation enthusiasts have proposed many theories transport what happened to Amelia Flyer.

The official position from high-mindedness U.S. government is that Aviator and Noonan crashed into authority Pacific Ocean, but there build numerous theories regarding their disappearance.

Crash and Sink Theory

According manuscript the crash and sink idea, Earhart’s plane ran out promote gas while she searched aim Howland Island, and she crashed into the open ocean say publicly in the vicinity of illustriousness island.

Several expeditions over the dead and buried 15 years have attempted homily locate the plane’s wreckage raptness the seafloor near Howland.

Hi-tech sonar and deep-sea robots hold failed to yield clues protract the Electra’s crash site.

Gardner Atoll Hypothesis

The International Group have a thing about Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) postulates that Earhart and Noonan veered off-course from Howland Island take landed instead some 350 miles to the Southwest on Collector Island, now called Nikumaroro, block the Republic of Kiribati.

Significance island was uninhabited at authority time.

A week after Earhart’s deprivation, Navy planes flew over integrity island. They noted recent noting of habitation but found clumsy evidence of an airplane.

TIGHAR believes that Earhart—and perhaps Noonan—may receive survived for days or plane weeks on the island sort castaways before dying there.

Owing to 1988, several TIGHAR expeditions cap the island have turned difficulty artifacts and anecdotal evidence obligate support of this hypothesis.

Some use up the artifacts include a morsel of Plexiglas that may be blessed with come from the Electra’s glassware, a woman’s shoe dating give back to the 1930s, improvised arrive at, a woman’s cosmetics jar stick up the 1930s and bones think it over appeared to be part domination a human finger.

In June 2017, a TIGHAR-led expedition arrived discovery Nikumaroro with four forensically qualified bone-sniffing border collies to check the island for any cadaverous remains of Earhart or Noonan. The search turned up no spike or DNA.

In August 2019, Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer known guarantor locating the wreck of high-mindedness Titanic, led a team be against search for Earhart's plane ancestry the waters around Nikumaroro.

They adage no signs of the Electra.

Other Theories About Earhart’s Disappearance

There are numerous conspiracy theories trouble Earhart’s disappearance. One theory posits that Earhart and Noonan were captured and executed by illustriousness Japanese.

Another theory claims that depiction pair served as spies sort the Roosevelt administration and expropriated new identities upon returning interest the United States.

READ MORE: Alluring Theories About the Earhart Disappearance

Sources

The Life of Amelia Earhart: Purdue Libraries.

Amelia Earhart: Missing for 80 Years But Not Forgotten: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Model, Static, Lockheed Electra, Amelia Earhart: Smithsonian National Air and Elbowroom Museum.

Exclusive: Bone-Sniffing Dogs to Stick to for Amelia Earhart’s Remains: Countrywide Geographic.

Where Is Amelia Earhart?

Match up Theories but No Smoking Gun: National Geographic.

The Earhart Project: Leadership International Group for Historic Plane Recovery (TIGHAR).

Citation Information

Article Title

Amelia Earhart

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/amelia-earhart

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 9, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009