Women Who Changed History

Amelia Earhart 

The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and the first person ever to fly solo From Hawaii to the United States, who her death remained a mystery till this day

 

Let us travel back in time to the 1897, when Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, in Atchison, Kansas. Since she was a child, she disregarded accepted gender stereotypes. Earhart was a basketball player who also completed an auto repair program and went to college for a short time.

 

She worked as a Red Cross nurse's helper in Toronto, Canada, during World War I. Something sparked her attention whilst she was also in Toronto, and she found herself looking up at the sky frequently. She started spending time observing Royal Flying Corps pilots exercise at a nearby field.

 

After the war ended, she moved to the United States and attended as a pre-med student at Columbia University in New York.  She took a step in December 1920 that led her to discover her passion, which would later allow her to enter history. In California, Earhart had her maiden flight with legendary World War I pilot Frank Hawks, and she was captivated for life.

 

After a year, she began flying training with Neta Snook, a female flight instructor. Earhart worked as a filing assistant at the Los Angeles Telephone Company to help pay for the lessons because she didn't have enough money to pay for them. She bought her first aero plane, a used Kinner Airster, later that same year. She named the yellow plane “the Canary”.

 

She made her earliest achievements in December 1921, when she succeeded her flight test and earned a National Aeronautics Association license. Two days later, she took part in a remarkable life-changing experience at the Sierra Airdrome in Pasadena, California: which was her first flight exhibition.

 

In her brief career, Amelia Earhart broke a number of incredible aviation records. She broke a world record in 1922 when she became the first woman to fly unassisted over 14,000 feet. Earhart made history in 1932 when she became the firstwoman and the second person after to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean. She took out from Newfoundland, Canada, on May 20 in a red Lockheed Vega 5B and landed in a cow pasture nearby Londonderry, Northern Ireland, the next day.

 

 

❝ Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.❞

 

 

When she returned to the United States, Congress bestowed the Distinctive Flying Cross on her, a military honor for “heroism or remarkable performance while engaging in an aerial flight.” She was the first woman to receive such recognition.

 

Throughout that year, Earhart flew alone, continuous across the United States for the first time. She set off from Los Angeles and arrived 19 hours later in Newark, New Jersey. In 1935, she made history for the second time by becoming the first person to fly alone from Hawaii to the mainland of the United States.

 

Earhart was well-known for her tireless efforts to advance women’s flying prospects. After coming third in the first transcontinental air race for women, she cofounded the Ninety-Nines, an international organization dedicated to the growth of female pilots.

 

She was the first president of the certified pilots’ association, which still persists today and involves women pilots from 44 nations.

In July 1937, the world was stunned by a tragedy. On July 2, Earhart and Noonan flew from Lae to Howland Island, their second refueling stop. On this date, Earhart was last seen alive. After losing radio communication with the US Coast Guard cutter Itasca, she and Noonan vanished.

After large two-week search for the couple was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, unfortunately they were never discovered. Earhart and Noonan were confirmed missing at sea on July 19, 1937.

 

The loss of Amelia Earhart represents one of the twentieth century’s biggest unsolved tragedies, but she made history and laid the groundwork for female pilots to complete her mission.

If you enjoyed this article, please let me know what more great women figures you are fascinated with in the comments section below.