Here are some of the key facts about Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
- Amelia Earhart was born on 24th July 1897 in Atchison, Kansas (United States).
- She was the sixteenth woman to receive a pilot’s license from the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale).
- Earhart attended more than five different high schools.
- She became a massive celebrity when she became the first woman to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean,
- She received the Distinguished Flying Cross, a US aviation award.
- Amelia Earhart joined the aviation department of Purdue University as visiting faculty member, and she wrote many books and articles about her flying experiences.
- Earhart was heavily involved in forming The Ninety-Nines, an association for female pilots, and she was a member of the National Woman’s Party, campaigning for equal rights for women.
- In 1931 she married George P. Putnam, the publisher.
- Amelia became good friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady (wife of President Roosevelt), and she was going to teach her to fly.
- Her nickname was Lady Lindy because she looked like a female version of the US aviator, Charles Lindbergh. She was also called the ‘Queen of the Air’.
- Earhart didn’t wear the clothes of an aviator. She wore a hat instead of flying helmet, a dress instead of a flying suit, and she only wore goggles when they were absolutely necessary.
- In 1937 Amelia Earhart attempted to complete a circumnavigation of the globe in a Lockheed Model 10 Electra plane. The flight was funded by Purdue University. Unfortunately, she disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean near to Howland Island. The US spent a great deal of money searching for Earhart, but her body was never recovered. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened to her and to her plane.
