Earhart

The Earth's Atmosphere and Beyond
Pioneers and Innovators

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)

Amelia Earhart, an American aviator, is most noted for her flights across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and her attempt to fly around the world. She was born in Atchison, Kansas, and educated at Columbia University and Harvard Summer School. In 1928 she was chosen as a passenger on a transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to make the crossing by air. In 1932 she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone. For this feat she was awarded honors by the American and French governments.

In 1935 she became the first woman to fly the Pacific Ocean, crossing from Hawaii to California. Later the same year she set a speed record by flying nonstop from Mexico City to New York City in 14 hr 19 min. In June 1937 she began a flight around the world, flying eastward from Miami, Florida. Her plane disappeared on July 2. An extensive search by planes and ships failed to discover any trace of the lost flyers, and their fate remains a mystery.

Achievements:

October 22, 1922 - Broke women's altitude record when she rose to 14,000 feet
June 17-18, 1928 - First woman to fly across the Atlantic
Fall 1928 - Published book 20 Hours 40 Minutes, toured and lectured; became aviation editor of Cosmopolitan magazine
August 1929 - Placed third in the First Women's Air Derby
Fall 1929- Elected as an official for National Aeronautic Association and encouraged the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) to establish separate world altitude, speed and endurance records for women
June 25, 1930 - Set women's speed record for 100 kilometers with no load, and with a load of 500 kilograms
July 5, 1930 - Set speed record for of 181.18mph over a 3K course
September 1930 - Helped to organize and became vice president of public relations for new airline, New York, Philadelphia and Washington Airways
April 8, 1931 - Set woman's autogiro altitude record with 18,415 feet
May 20-21, 1932 - First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic; 14 hrs 56 min; awarded National Geographic Society's gold medal from President Herbert Hoover; Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross
August 24-25, 1932 - First woman to fly solo nonstop coast to coast; set women's nonstop transcontinental speed record, flying 2,447.8 miles in 19hrs 5min
Fall 1932 - Elected president of the Ninety Nines, a new women's aviation club which she helped to form
January 11, 1935 - First person to solo the 2,408-mile distance across the Pacific between Honolulu and Oakland, California
April l9 - 20, 1935 - First person to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City
May 8, 1935 - First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico City to Newark
June 1, 1937 - Began flight around the world June 1937

In 1932, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to pilot a non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
She made the two-day flight in this bright red Lockheed Vega 5B.

Quotes:

"One of my favorite phobias is that girls, especially those whose tastes aren't routine, often don't get a fair break... It has come down through the generations, an inheritance of age-old customs which produced the corollary that women are bred to timidity." ~Amelia Earhart

"Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn't be done." ~Amelia Earhart

"Never do things others can do and will do, if there are things others cannot do or will not do." ~Amelian Earhart

By: Tiffany Cooney

References:

http://www.ameliaearhart.com/about/photo.html
http://www.kidscastle.si.edu/channels/air-space/facts/air-spacefact9.html
http://ellensplace.net/ae_lflt.html
http://www.ameliaearhart.com/about/quotes.html