Names like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart might ring a bell as famous pilots, but what did they actually do? Interestingly, both Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart were known for disappearances; Charles Lindberg notably for the disappearance of his baby, which incidentally initiated the career of J. Edgar Hoover (This case remains unsolved). Whereas Amelia Earhart disappeared, presumably over the Pacific, without a trace. However, before the disappearances, both Earhart and Lindberg were known for their flying.
World War One was historical for a great deal of reasons, one was that it was the first war to use airplanes for battle. This relatively new invention took to the sky and proved that this invention was useful and here to stay. A year after the War a French born, American citizen named Raymond Orteig wanted to spark a new idea for the plane. Namely, can an airplane cross the Atlantic Ocean. Orteig a self made man who owned a few Hotels in the Big Apple decided to create a competition, the individual to get from New York to Paris or vice versa would win $25,000. By 1927, this competition claimed the lives of four hopeful aviators who dreamed of being the first. Also another few went missing or were injured, but that did not deter others from trying.
A young man named Charles Lindbergh decided to give it a shot on May 20, 1927 with his plane “The Spirit of St. Louis”. He traveled very light only taking five sandwiches for food and no co-pilot. Taking off from New York with no coffee and very little sleep, the world waited to see if he would make it to Paris. Thirty-three and a half hours later Lindbergh landed in Paris, changing the possibilities of what humans believed could be done in an airplane. Next, it was the women’s chance to prove they could fly as well as the men.
Amelia Earhart on May 20, 1932 took to the skies, flying out of Newfoundland, Canada. Although she planned on flying to Paris just like Lindbergh, the weather had different plans for her. After almost 15 hours of flying she landed in Londonderry, Ireland, becoming the first women and the second person to fly nonstop solo from North America to Europe. Both flights landed their pilots, Lindbergh and Earhart, into Aviation History and changed the future of flying.
Tragically a few months before Amelia Earhart took off on her flight the Lindbergh’s son Charles Jr. was kidnapped on March 1, 1932. His body was recovered, but the perpetrators were never caught. While Amelia Earhart disappeared on June of 1937 attempting to circumnavigate the world with her co-pilot Fred Noonan.
For more information check out these sights or books:
About the first women aviators
Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien
About the competition
http://www.charleslindbergh.com/plane/orteig.asp
About the Lindbergh’s Plane the Spirit of St. Louis
http://www.charleslindbergh.com/plane/
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/ryan-nyp-spirit-st-louis-charles-lindbergh
Amelia Earhart’s Flight
https://pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/amelia-earhart-solos-atlantic
The Disappearances:
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping
https://time.com/5486999/amelia-earhart-disappearance-theories/
Small World, Big Stories 