Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Famous Female Aviator Studio headshot portrait of American aviator Amelia Earhart, the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight, wearing a leather jacket. (circa 1932). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) By Dani Alexis Ryskamp, Contributing Writer Updated November 02, 2015. Who Was Amelia Earhart? As a pilot, Amelia Earhart set many world flying records. She became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and the first person to make a solo flight across both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Earhart also set several height and speed records in an airplane. Despite all these records, Amelia Earhart is perhaps best remembered for her mysterious disappearance, which has become one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century. While attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world, she disappeared on July 2, 1937 while heading toward Howland's Island.

Dates: July 24, 1897 -- July 2, 1937(?) Also Known As: Amelia Mary Earhart, Lady Lindy Amelia Earhart’s Childhood Amelia Mary Earhart was born in her maternal grandparents’ home in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, 1897 to Amy and Edwin Earhart. Although Edwin was a lawyer, he never earned the approval of Amy’s parents, Judge Alfred Otis and his wife, Amelia. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World In 1899, two-and-a-half years after Amelia’s birth, Edwin and Amy welcomed another daughter, Grace Muriel, into the world. Amelia Earhart spent much of her early childhood living with her Otis grandparents in Atchison during the school months and then spending her summers with her parents. Earhart’s early life was filled with outdoor adventures combined with the etiquette lessons expected of upper-middle-class girls of her day. Amelia (known as “Millie” in her youth) and her sister Grace Muriel (known as “Pidge”) loved to play together, especially outdoors. After visiting the World’s Fair in St.

Louis in 1904 , Amelia decided she wanted to build her own mini roller coaster in her backyard. Enlisting Pidge to help, the two built a homemade roller coaster on the roof of the tool shed, using planks, a wooden box, and lard for grease. Amelia took the first ride, which ended with a crash and some bruises – but she loved it. By 1908, Edwin Earhart had closed his private law firm and was working as a lawyer for a railroad in Des Moines, Iowa; thus, it was time for Amelia to move back in with her parents. That same year, her parents took her to the Iowa State Fair where 10-year-old Amelia saw an airplane for the very first time. Surprisingly, the airplane didn’t interest her. Problems at Home At first, life in Des Moines seemed to be going well for the Earhart family; however, it soon became obvious that Edwin had started to heavily drink alcohol. When his alcoholism got worse, Edwin eventually lost his job in Iowa and had trouble finding another. In 1915, with the promise of a job with the Great Northern Railway in St.

Paul, Minnesota, the Earhart family packed up their belongings and moved. However, the job fell through once they got there. Tired of her husband’s alcoholism and the family’s increasing money troubles, Amy Earhart moved herself and her daughters to Chicago, leaving their father behind in Minnesota. Edwin and Amy eventually divorced in 1924. Due to her family’s frequent moves, Amelia Earhart switched high schools six times, making it hard for her to make or keep friends during her teen years. She did well in her classes, but preferred sports. She graduated from Chicago’s Hyde Park High School in 1916 and is listed in the school’s yearbook as “the girl in brown who walks alone.” Later in life, however, she was known for her friendly and outgoing nature. After high school, Earhart went to the Ogontz School in Philadelphia, but she soon dropped out to become a nurse for returning World War I soldiers and for victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918 . First Flights It wasn’t until 1920, when Earhart was 23 years old, that she developed an interest in airplanes.

While visiting her father in California, she attended an air show and the stunt-flying feats she watched convinced her that she had to try flying for herself. Earhart took her first flying lesson on January 3, 1921. According to her instructors, Earhart wasn’t a “natural” at piloting an airplane; instead, she made up for a lack of talent with plenty of hard work and a passion for flying. Earhart received her “Aviator Pilot” certification from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale on May 16, 1921 -- a major step for any pilot at the time. Since her parents could not afford to pay for her lessons, Earhart worked several jobs to raise the money herself. She also saved up the money to buy her own airplane, a small Kinner Airster she called the Canary. In the Canary, she broke the women’s altitude record on October 22, 1922 by becoming the first woman to reach 14,000 feet in an airplane.

Earhart Becomes the First Woman to Fly Over the Atlantic In 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh made history by becoming the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic, from the U.S. to England. A year later, Amelia Earhart was asked to make a non-stop flight across the same ocean. She had been discovered by publisher George Putnam, who had been asked to look for a suitable female pilot to complete this feat. Since this was not to be a solo flight, Earhart joined a crew of two other aviators, both men. On June 17, 1928, the journey began when the Friendship, a Fokker F7 specially outfitted for the trip, took off from Newfoundland bound for England. Ice and fog made the trip difficult and Earhart spent much of the flight scribbling notes in a journal while her co-pilots, Bill Stultz and Louis Gordon, handled the plane. On June 18, 1928, after 20 hours and 40 minutes in the air, the Friendship landed in South Wales.

Although Earhart said she did not contribute any more to the flight than “a sack of potatoes” would have, the press saw her accomplishment differently. They started calling Earhart “Lady Lindy,” after Charles Lindbergh. Shortly after this trip, Earhart published a book about her experiences, titled 20 Hours 40 Minutes. Before long, Amelia Earhart was looking for new records to break in her own airplane. A few months after publishing 20 Hours 40 Minutes, she flew solo across the United States and back -- the first time a female pilot had made the journey alone. In 1929, she founded and participated in the Woman’s Air Derby, an airplane race from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland, Ohio with a substantial cash prize. Flying a more powerful Lockheed Vega, Earhart finished third, behind noted pilots Louise Thaden and Gladys O’Donnell. On February 7, 1931, Earhart married publisher George Putnam, the man who had discovered her. Also in 1931, Earhart and several other female aviators banded together to start a professional international organization for female pilots, of which Earhart became the first president.

The Ninety-Niners, named because it originally had 99 members, still represents and supports female pilots today. Earhart published a second book about her accomplishments, The Fun of It, in 1932. Solo Across the Ocean Having won multiple competitions, flown in air shows, and set new altitude records, Amelia Earhart began looking for a bigger challenge. In 1932, she decided to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. On May 20, 1932, she took off again from Newfoundland, piloting a small Lockheed Vega. It was a dangerous trip: clouds and fog made it difficult to navigate, her plane’s wings became covered with ice, and the plane developed a fuel leak about two-thirds of the way across the ocean. Worse, the altimeter stopped working, so Earhart had no idea how far above the ocean’s surface her plane was -- a situation that nearly resulted in her crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. In serious danger, Earhart abandoned her plans to land at Southampton, England, and made for the first bit of land she saw.

She touched down in a sheep pasture in Ireland on May 21, 1932, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and the first-ever person to fly across the Atlantic twice. The solo Atlantic crossing was followed by more book deals, meetings with heads of state, and a lecture tour, as well as more flying competitions. In 1935, Earhart also made a solo flight from Hawaii to Oakland, California, becoming the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. This trip also made Earhart the first person to fly solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight Not long after making her Pacific flight in 1935, Amelia Earhart decided she wanted to try flying around the entire world. A U.S. Army Air Force crew had made the trip in 1924 and male aviator Wiley Post flew around the world by himself in 1931 and 1933. But Earhart had two new goals. First, she wanted to be the first woman to fly solo around the world. Second, she wanted to fly around the world at or near the equator, the planet’s widest point.

The previous flights had both circled the world much closer to the North Pole , where the distance was shortest. Earhart wanted to make the longest possible flight around the globe. Planning and preparation for the trip was difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Her plane, a Lockheed Electra, had to be completely re-fitted with additional fuel tanks, survival gear, scientific instruments, and a state-of-the-art radio. A 1936 test flight ended in a crash that destroyed the plane’s landing gear. Several months passed while the plane was fixed. Meanwhile, Earhart and her navigator, Frank Noonan, plotted their course around the world. The most difficult point in the trip would be the flight from Papua New Guinea to Hawaii because it required a fuel stop at Howland’s Island, a small coral island about 1,700 miles west of Hawaii. Aviation maps were poor at the time and the island would be difficult to find from the air. However, the stop at Howland’s Island was unavoidable because the plane could only carry about half the fuel needed to fly from Papua New Guinea to Hawaii, making a fuel stop essential if Earhart and Noonan were to make it across the South Pacific.

As difficult as it might be to find, Howland’s Island seemed like the best choice for a stop since it is positioned approximately half way between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. Once their course had been plotted and their plane readied, it was time for the final details. It was during this last minute preparation that Earhart decided not to take the full-sized radio antenna that Lockheed recommended, instead opting for a smaller antenna. The new antenna was lighter, but it also could not transmit or receive signals as well, especially in bad weather. On May 21, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Frank Noonan took off from Oakland, California, on the first leg of their trip. The plane landed first in Puerto Rico and then in several other locations in the Caribbean before heading to Senegal. They crossed Africa, stopping several times for fuel and supplies, then went on to Eritrea, India, Burma, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. There, Earhart and Noonan prepared for the toughest stretch of the trip -- the landing at Howland’s Island. Since every pound in the plane meant more fuel used, Earhart removed every non-essential item -- even the parachutes.

The plane was checked and re-checked by mechanics to ensure it was in top condition. However, Earhart and Noonan had been flying for over a month straight by this time and both were tired. On July 2, 1937, Earhart’s plane left Papua New Guinea heading toward Howland’s Island. For the first seven hours, Earhart and Noonan stayed in radio contact with the airstrip in Papua New Guinea. After that, they made intermittent radio contact with the U.S.S. Itsaca, a Coast Guard ship patrolling the waters below. However, reception was poor and messages between the plane and the Itsaca were frequently lost or garbled. Two hours after Earhart’s scheduled arrival at Howland’s Island, at about 10:30 a.m. local time on July 2, 1937, the Itsaca received a last static-filled message that indicated Earhart and Noonan could not see the ship or the island and they were almost out of fuel. The crew of the Itsaca tried to signal the ship’s location by sending up black smoke, but the plane did not appear. Neither the plane, Earhart, nor Noonan were ever seen or heard from again.

The Mystery Continues The mystery of what happened to Earhart, Noonan, and the plane has not yet been solved. In 1999, British archaeologists claimed to have found artifacts on a small island in the South Pacific that contained Earhart’s DNA, but the evidence is not conclusive. Near the plane’s last known location, the ocean reaches depths of 16,000 feet, well below the range of today’s deep-sea diving equipment. If the plane sank into those depths, it may never be recovered. Amelia Earhart Becomes First Woman to Fly Solo across the Atlantic | World History Project Amelia Earhart Becomes First Woman to Fly Solo across the Atlantic On May 20-21, 1932, Earhart accomplished her goal of flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She took off from Newfoundland, Canada, at 7:12 p.m. on May 20, in her Lockheed Vega. Her flight was filled with dangers, from rapidly changing weather to a broken altimeter so she could not tell how high she was flying, to gasoline leaking into the cockpit.

At one point her plane dropped almost 3,000 feet (914 meters) and went into a spin (which she managed to pull out of) and flames were shooting out of the exhaust manifold. She brought her plane down on the coast of Ireland after a harrowing trip lasting 15 hours and 18 minutes The flight was the second solo flight across the Atlantic and the longest nonstop flight by a woman--2,026 miles (3,261 kilometers)--as well as the first flight across the Atlantic by a woman. President Herbert Hoover awarded her the National Geographic Society Medal on June 21, 1932, for her achievement, and the U.S. Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first woman to receive such an honor. Earhart's accomplishment meant a great deal to the entire world, but especially to women, for it demonstrated that women could set their own course in aviation and other fields.

Source: US Centennial of Flight Commission Added by: Kevin Rogers At the age of 34, on the morning of May 20, 1932 Earhart set off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland with the latest copy of a local newspaper (the dated copy was intended 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. Her technical advisor for the flight was famed Norwegian American aviator Bernt Balchen who helped prepare her aircraft. He also played the role of "decoy" for the press as 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?" Amelia replied, "From America."The site now is the home of a small museum, the Amelia Earhart Centre.

As the first woman to fly solo non-stop 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, she developed friendships with many people in high offices, most notably, Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady from 1933–1945. Roosevelt shared many of Earhart's interests and passions, especially women's causes. After flying with Earhart, Roosevelt actually obtained a student permit but did not pursue her plans to learn to fly. The two friends communicated frequently throughout their lives.[85] Another famous flyer, Jacqueline Cochran, who the public considered Amelia's greatest rival, also became a confidante and friend during this period. Source: Wikipedia Added by: Kevin Rogers By early 1932 no other person had successfully flown solo across the Atlantic since Lindbergh. Amelia would not duplicate Lindbergh's course but would fly from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland with the British Isles as her destination.

On May 20, 1932, exactly 5 years after the Lindbergh flight, Amelia's modified Lockheed Vega began the journey. Since she did not drink coffee or tea, she would keep awake by using smelling salts on long trips. Amelia prided herself on traveling light...a thermos of soup and a can of tomato juice would sustain her. Somewhat off-course, she landed in an open field near Londonderry in northern Ireland. On climbing from her plane a man approached. She asked: "Where am I?"...the man replied "in Gallegher's pasture...have you come far?"..."from America", she replied. She had broken several records on this flight...the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo and only person to fly it twice...the longest non-stop distance flown by a woman...and a record for crossing in the shortest time. George joined Amelia in London, and after spending several weeks touring Europe they returned to New York to a tickertape parade. President Hoover presented Amelia with the Special Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society. Honors of all kinds continued to be heaped on Amelia and keys of various cities bestowed.

Amelia was voted Outstanding Woman of the Year which she accepted on behalf of "all women". The French press ended an article about Amelia's accomplishment with..."can she bake a cake?" ...Amelia replied... "So I accept these awards on behalf of the cake bakers and all of those other women who can do some things quite as important, if not more important, than flying, as well as in the name of women flying today." Source: ellensplace.net Added by: Kevin Rogers “ "So I accept these awards on behalf of the cake bakers and all of those other women who can do some things quite as important, if not more important, than flying, as well as in the name of women flying today."” — Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart: The First Woman to Fly Solo Across the Atlantic The First Woman to Fly Solo Across the Atlantic copyrighted by Patricia Chadwick. All rights reserved worldwide. Reprinted with permission Amelia Earhart was born July 24, 1898 in Atchison, Kansas. She was a lively tomboy throughout her childhood and unlike most American women in her generation and generations before, she never outgrew this trait.

She volunteered in a Red Cross Hospital during World War I, taught English to immigrant factory workers, and studied pre-med for a short time. But airplanes were her first love. Amelia loved excitement. Impressed with stunt fliers and air shows, Amelia learned to fly and became a licensed pilot, making her first solo flight in 1921. Soon she saved enough money to buy her own plane. In 1928, Amelia was asked to be a part of a team of pilots that were to make a transatlantic flight. She accepted and became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She was hallowed by the press and dubbed �Lady Lindy�, winning public affection. But Amelia was not satisfied with this. Because of her adventurous spirit and love for the spotlight, Amelia became determined to perfect her flying skills, making plans to fly the ocean on her own. This she did on May 20, 1932. Amelia achieved a number of flight �firsts�. She was the first woman pilot to fly the Pacific Ocean and the first woman to make a transcontinental flight in an autogyro, the predecessor of the helicopter, which was still in it's developmental stage.

But while attempting to fly around the world in 1937, Amelia�s plane vanished and she was presumed lost at sea. She was 39 years old. Amelia Earhart was a woman of great courage. She chose to loose herself from the conventional roles of women in her generation and follow her heart, doing what she loved best - flying. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Earhart, Amelia Encyclopedia > People > Science and Technology > Aviation: Biographies Amelia Earhart Earhart, Amelia (ârˈhärt) [ key ], 1897–1937, American aviator, b. Atchison, Kans. She was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by airplane (1928) and the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic (1932). She was also the first person to fly alone from Honolulu to California and to solo nonstop from California to Mexico (both: 1935). In 1937, she attempted with a copilot, Frederick J. Noonan, to fly around the world at the equator, but her plane was lost on the flight between New Guinea and Howland Island.

In 1992, a search party reported finding remnants of Earhart's plane on Nikumaroro (formerly Gardner Island), Kiribati, but their claims were disputed by people who had worked on Earhart's plane. Other artifacts that could be from Earhart's flight (but no clear evidence) have been found on Nikumaroro, and her fate remains a mystery. Geraldine Mock later became (1964) the first woman to complete Earhart's round-the-world route. Earhart was married (1931) to George Palmer Putnam , who wrote (1939) a laudatory biography of her. See biographies by M. S. Lovell (1989), D. L. Rich (1996), and S. Butler (1997, repr. 2009); T. E. Devine and R. Daley, Eyewitness: The Amelia Earhart Incident (1987); S. Ware, Still Missing (1993); C. Szabo, Sky Pioneer (1997); T. C. Brennan and R.

Rosenbaum, Witness to the Execution: The Odyssey of Amelia Earhart (1999); K. Lubben and E. Barnett, ed., Amelia Earhart: Image and Icon (2007). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: Aviation: Biographies Advertisement Advertisement Amelia Earhart Flies Atlantic, First Woman To Do It; Tells Her Own Story of Perilous 21-Hour Trip to Wales; Radio Quit and They Flew Blind Over Invisible Ocean Read the full text of The Times article or other headlines from the day.

Amelia Earhart Flies Atlantic, First Woman To Do It; Tells Her Own Story of Perilous 21-Hour Trip to Wales; Radio Quit and They Flew Blind Over Invisible Ocean Eager Crowds Imperil Miss Earhart As They Welcome Fliers at Burry Port Police Aid Weary Trio to Battle Way to Refuge in Zinc Works--Friends Fly From Southampton to Greet Them and Hear Story of Their Adventures By ALLEN RAYMOND Special Cable to The New York Times RELATED HEADLINES Fought Rain, Fog and Snow All the Way: Miss Earhart Says Motors Spat and Gas Ran Low, But She Had Neither Fear Nor Doubt of Success: Passed Over Ireland Without Even Seeing It: Wind Aided Plane--Girl Credits Feat to Stultz and Gordon--She Flew Because It Would Have Been 'Too Inartistic to Refuse' OTHER HEADLINES Ritchie Withdraws in Favor of Smith, Urging Party Unity: New Yorker's Nomination Will Assure Democratic Victory, He Asserts: Directs Appeal to South: Smith as President Would Restore Popular Government, Maryland Executive Says: Turns Over His Delegates: Sees Struggle of 1924 Avoided at Houston--Reed Still in Race

, Backer Declares Nobile Vainly Hails Fliers Circling Over But Not Seeing Him: General Radios Base Ship That Rescue Planes Were Over Stranded Men an Hour: Second Flight Also Fails: This Time Italia Castaways Sight One of Planes Piloted by Riiser-Larsen and Holm: Savoia Reaches Kings Bay: Big Italian Seaplane Ready for Dash North--French and Swedish Craft on Way President of Porto Rican Senate Stabbed and Badly Hurt by a Maniac Anarchist Smith Supporters See a Quick Victory: Hope Ritchie's Withdrawal in Favor of Governor Will Be Followed by Others: Aides Start for Houston: Van Namee, Sure of Success, Says "Steam-Roller" Methods Will Not Be Used 12 Injured by Bomb 'Planted' in Detroit: County Building Shaken, Windows Shattered and Hundreds Panic-Stricken: 'Purple' Gang Suspected: Darrow Attending Court Case Is Jarred--Jokes With Judge About Blast Keel Laid for Biggest Ship, 1,000 Feet Long; 60,000-Ton 'Oceanic' to Cost $30,000,000 Burry

 Port, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, June 18.--The first woman to cross the Atlantic successfully by air, Miss Amelia Earhart, Boston settlement worker, alighted in the seaplane Friendship here this morning on the broad expanse of Loughor estuary, after a flight of 20 hours and 40 minutes elapsed time from Trepassey.

Few persons saw the gilt-winged Fokker monoplane descend on the Welsh coast, but this evening, when friends rushing from Southampton brought Miss Earhart ashore, she was the recipient of so enthusiastic a reception by the 2,000 inhabitants of this town that it seemed for a few minutes as if she would not outlive her triumph. Eager Crowds Imperil Aviatrix The arrival of the Friendship was the greatest event this remote district has had since the end of the World War when the town's boys came home. Miss Earhart was nearly crushed by the anxiety of the crowd of men, women and children to touch the hem of her flying suit, get her autograph on a slip of paper, wring her hand and congratulate her upon her triumphant passage over the Atlantic. The High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire, who had rowed out to greet her; the town's three policemen and a couple of friends had to form a ring with locked arms about the latest popular heroine and literally to fight their way a hundred yards from the shore to the office of the local zinc works, where they found shelter back of locked doors.

"You must remember," the local Police Chief said apologetically, "that our people never saw anything to compare with this. I advise you to remain here until we get extra police." The Friendship's crew were marooned within the walls of the Frickers Metal Company an hour and a half before police reinforcements arrived and cleared a way to the two motor cars to take them to a distant hotel where rest, food and sleep could be obtained after their arduous journey. Poor Visibility Forced Landing Poor visibility forced the plane to come down on the Welsh coast after the first tentative objective--Valentia, Ireland--had been left far behind, but the possible goal of Southampton not yet reached. Except for the first hour over the Atlantic after leaving the rugged shores of Newfoundland, the fliers never saw sea or land until they had winged their way to the Eastern Irish coast. They flew through fog, rain and snow most of the time, fighting for altitude and clearer weather, but they came fast with the wind behind of twenty to thirty miles per hour speeding them on.

They probably had plenty of gasoline left, when they descended, to reach Southampton-- seventy-five gallons--but were struggling in the midst of dense fog and knew they were somewhere off the southern coast of Britain. With their object attained--that of making Miss Earhart the first woman to complete a transatlantic crossing--they decided to take no further risks. They will go on to Southampton tomorrow. Stultz and Gordon Elated The full story of the flight has yet to be told. The two airmen, Stultz and Gordon, who had the major responsibility and labor of getting the Friendship safely across the ocean, were soon fast asleep after battling their way to the hotel. Both ejaculated their joy at their success and chuckled together over the moments in mid-ocean when they seemed dubious of the outcome. Miss Earhart, who came through her experience in fine condition and spirits, struggled against weariness to narrate her experience before she, too, sought sleep. The adventurers, after five false starts in the Harbor of Trepassey, succeeded in lifting the plane only after dropping fifty gallons of gasoline and cutting down the supply to 700 gallons as against 1,000 they had meant originally to carry.

Even with the lightened load they barely lifted the plane skyward with two motors cut out because dashed with spray, but soon they were lifting its weight gradually along the Newfoundland coast till Stultz felt sure the engines were running smoothly. Weather Good Only at Start They headed for the open sea in excellent weather only to run into continuous fog after an hour's flight. As gasoline was used, lightening the plane, they were enabled to soar 5,000 to 11,000 feet; where most of the way above the clouds they traveled amid a sea of blazing stars, heading, it seemed, into a series of rainbow rings. They received bearings twice from a ship before the radio was out of commission, and encountered bad weather until over Queenstown, Ireland. There they saw ships and tried to drop notes to find their exact location, but failed to obtain an answer. Stultz turned correctly southward, however, and headed toward Southampton. Meanwhile, headed by the Hon. Mrs. Frederick E.

Guest, backer of the flight, with her husband, Captain Guest, a member of Parliament and international polo player, and Raymond Guest, former captain of the Yale polo team, there was a large gathering at Southampton awaiting the fliers' arrival. A plane bearing Captain Guest cruised intermittently from noon till 3 P.M. on the lookout. A fast motor launch owned by Hubert Scott Pain, Director of the Imperial Airways, and a noted British sportsman, scudded at a 40-mile an hour gait over the lower harbor awaiting to escort the crew of the Friendship to land. After hours of anxiety, during which the plane was believed overdue, the watcher at Southampton received the welcome word at 2:45 P.M. that the Friendship was down on the Welsh coast. Race to Coast by Plane and Auto A race to reach her by plane and high-powered automobile began instantly. A seaplane carrying Captain H.H. Railey, European director of the flight, and The New York Times correspondent, was the first to drop alongside the ocean fliers in Loughor estuary after a three-hour jaunt cutting across Southern England.

There were still traces of fog which cut the ocean journey short, but flying low the occupants of the seaplane descried the gilt wings of the Friendship bobbing at a buoy offshore here. A final run by motor boat brought the fliers in sight. As Miss Earhart looked from the open doorway of the fuselage and recognized one of her visitors as Captain Railey, he, ending a two weeks' vigil to welcome her, cast his hat skyward with a shout of jubilation and let it float off down the tide. There was an exultant reunion. After a consultation it was decided by Stultz to taxi the plane into the shelter of the Burry Port quays and there the hospitable attack of the Welsh throng began. Before it was ended Miss Earhart had appeared thrice, in the manner of royalty, at a window of the zinc factory to acknowledge the cheers of the dense crowd below; had been served with tea by the wife of the factory foreman and finally battled and tricked her way to a roadside inn near the village as darkness was nearing and the clock struck 9. She had been thirty hours en route to her first comfortable resting place.

"Tired and hungry, but cheerful," she commented, lounging in her wooly coat and breeches and stout leather boots. "And we got here all right. There wasn't any race with Miss Boll, but, of course, I'm glad to be the first woman across." Stultz Tells of Difficulties Captain Wilmer Stultz was the first to come ashore after the Friendship had alighted at Burry Port. He declared he was dead tired and explained that he had only enough gasoline left to enable the Friendship to taxi another ten miles. "No one was more thankful than I was," he admitted, "to see the Welsh coast. We had a very bad trip right through and most of the way I was flying blind. I was at the joystick throughout the whole trip and had considerable difficulty in keeping on my course because of the fog and rain. After realizing that we were getting short of gasoline I resolved to come down as soon as a favorable opportunity offered. "Then I saw the estuary, which I now know to be Burry Port, and after circling to make sure everything was clear I landed on the strip of water and fastened up to a buoy. "We are all well, but very, very tired.

Miss Earhart is resting on the seaplane, but I came ashore to see about gasoline. At the moment I have not enough to allow us to rise again. "The trip? Well, I don't want to discuss it at the moment. It wasn't a pleasant experience, although everything went perfectly. I had to steer solely by the instruments, and luckily none of them went wrong. We flew at a fair height, but flew blind. When we approached the Welsh coast I had to come down to the ground to see where we were." "Tremendous Triumph," Says the Hon. Mrs. Guest Captain Guest, who was formerly Minister of Air, and the Hon. Mrs. Guest, who partially financed the Friendship's flight and originally intended to participate in it, were at Southampton when the news arrived that the plane was down at Burry Point. "I regard the flight as a tremendous triumph." Mrs.

Guest said, "and ---- Earhart completes transatlantic flight - May 21, 1932 - HISTORY.com Earhart completes transatlantic flight Publisher A+E Networks Five years to the day that American aviator Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, female aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first pilot to repeat the feat, landing her plane in Ireland after flying across the North Atlantic. Earhart traveled over 2,000 miles from Newfoundland in just under 15 hours. Unlike Charles Lindbergh, Earhart was well known to the public before her solo transatlantic flight. In 1928, as a member of a three-person crew, she had become the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an aircraft. Although her only function during the crossing was to keep the plane’s log, the event won her national fame, and Americans were enamored with the daring and modest young pilot. For her solo transatlantic crossing in 1932, she was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross by the U.S. Congress.

In 1935, in the first flight of its kind, she flew solo from Wheeler Field in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Oakland, California, winning a $10,000 award posted by Hawaiian commercial interests. Two years later, she attempted, along with copilot Frederick J. Noonan, to fly around the world, but her plane disappeared near Howland Island in the South Pacific on July 2, 1937. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca picked up radio messages that she was lost and low in fuel–the last the world ever heard from Amelia Earhart. Related Videos Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly across the Atlantic | World History Project Jun 17 1928 Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly across the Atlantic After Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, Amy Phipps Guest, (1873–1959), expressed interest in being the first woman to fly (or be flown) across the Atlantic Ocean.

After deciding the trip was too perilous for her to undertake, she offered to sponsor the project, suggesting they find "another girl with the right image." While at work one afternoon in April 1928, Earhart got a phone call from Capt. Hilton H. Railey, who asked her, "Would you like to fly the Atlantic?" The project coordinators (including book publisher and publicist George P. Putnam) interviewed Amelia and asked her to accompany pilot Wilmer Stultz and co-pilot/mechanic Louis Gordon on the flight, nominally as a passenger, but with the added duty of keeping the flight log. The team departed Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m on June 17, 1928, landing at Burry Port (near Llanelli), Wales, United Kingdom, exactly 20 hours and 40 minutes later.[50] Since most of the flight was on "instruments" and Amelia had no training for this type of flying, she did not pilot the aircraft. When interviewed after landing, she said, "Stultz did all the flying—had to.

I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes." She added, "...maybe someday I'll try it alone." While in England, Earhart is reported as receiving a rousing welcome on June 19, 1928, when landing at Woolston in Southampton, England. She flew the Avro Avian 594 Avian III, SN: R3/AV/101 owned by Lady Mary Heath and later purchased the aircraft and had it shipped back to the United States (where it was assigned “unlicensed aircraft identification mark” 7083). When the Stultz, Gordon and Earhart flight crew returned to the United States they were greeted with a ticker-tape parade in New York followed by a reception with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.

Question: Who was the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic?
Answer: Amelia Earhart