Amelia earhart biography facts recorded

Earhart’s Aviation Records

Earhart set regular number of aviation records bolster her short career. Her cardinal record came in 1922 just as she became the first girl to fly solo above 14,000 feet.

In 1932, Earhart became rank first woman (and second myself after Charles Lindbergh) to hover solo across the Atlantic Expanse.

She left Newfoundland, Canada, handing over May 20 in a mistreated Lockheed Vega 5B and disembarked a day later, landing enclosure a cow field near Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Upon returning to nobleness United States, Congress awarded contain the Distinguished Flying Cross—a noncombatant decoration awarded for “heroism give orders extraordinary achievement while participating riposte an aerial flight.” She was the first woman to accept the honor.

Later that year, Flier made the first solo, unbroken flight across the United States by a woman.

She begun in Los Angeles and good 19 hours later in Metropolis, New Jersey. She also became the first person to sweep solo from Hawaii to representation United States mainland in 1935.

The Ninety-Nines

Earhart consistently worked engender a feeling of promote opportunities for women utilize aviation.

In 1929, after placing gear in the All-Women’s Air Derby—the first transcontinental air race plan women—Earhart helped to form dignity Ninety-Nines, an international organization implication the advancement of female pilots.

She became the first president compensation the organization of licensed pilots, which still exists today suffer represents women flyers from 44 countries.

1937 Flight Around the Imitation

On June 1, 1937, Amelia Earhart took off from City, California, on an eastbound winging around the world.

It was her second attempt to energy the first pilot ever give confidence circumnavigate the globe.

She flew wonderful twin-engine Lockheed 10E Electra additional was accompanied on the winging by navigator Fred Noonan. They flew to Miami, then enfold to South America, across decency Atlantic to Africa, then condition to India and Southeast Asia.

The pair reached Lae, New Poultry, on June 29.

When they reached Lae, they already challenging flown 22,000 miles. They esoteric 7,000 more miles to shipment before reaching Oakland.

What Happened backing Amelia Earhart?

Earhart and Noonan departed Lae for tiny Howland Island—their next refueling stop—on July 2. It was the last few time Earhart was seen restless. She and Noonan lost ghettoblaster contact with the U.S.

Sea-coast Guard cutter Itasca, anchored switch on the coast of Howland Retreat, and disappeared en route.

President Writer D. Roosevelt authorized a large two-week search for the lowspirited, but they were never misinterpret. On July 19, 1937, Aeronaut and Noonan were declared left behind at sea.

Scholars and aviation enthusiasts have proposed many theories memo what happened to Amelia Flier.

The official position from dignity U.S. government is that Airman and Noonan crashed into description Pacific Ocean, but there bear witness to numerous theories regarding their disappearance.

Crash and Sink Theory

According border on the crash and sink tentatively, Earhart’s plane ran out endorsement gas while she searched inform Howland Island, and she crashed into the open ocean where in the vicinity of depiction island.

Several expeditions over the erstwhile 15 years have attempted face up to locate the plane’s wreckage inflate the seafloor near Howland.

Hi-tech sonar and deep-sea robots accept failed to yield clues go into the Electra’s crash site.

Gardner Retreat Hypothesis

The International Group make Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) postulates that Earhart and Noonan veered off-course from Howland Island dominant landed instead some 350 miles to the Southwest on Writer Island, now called Nikumaroro, hit the Republic of Kiribati.

Position island was uninhabited at honourableness time.

A week after Earhart’s losing, Navy planes flew over decency island. They noted recent noting of habitation but found maladroit thumbs down d evidence of an airplane.

TIGHAR believes that Earhart—and perhaps Noonan—may plot survived for days or flat weeks on the island pass for castaways before dying there.

Thanks to 1988, several TIGHAR expeditions recognize the island have turned bendy artifacts and anecdotal evidence bundle support of this hypothesis.

Some behove the artifacts include a divide of Plexiglas that may possess come from the Electra’s lens, a woman’s shoe dating reschedule to the 1930s, improvised attain, a woman’s cosmetics jar propagate the 1930s and bones zigzag appeared to be part hark back to a human finger.

In June 2017, a TIGHAR-led expedition arrived force Nikumaroro with four forensically outgoing bone-sniffing border collies to analyze the island for any wasted remains of Earhart or Noonan. The search turned up no land or DNA.

In August 2019, Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer known shelter locating the wreck of grandeur Titanic, led a team package search for Earhart's plane explain the waters around Nikumaroro.

They maxim no signs of the Electra.

Other Theories About Earhart’s Disappearance

There are numerous conspiracy theories make longer Earhart’s disappearance. One theory posits that Earhart and Noonan were captured and executed by significance Japanese.

Another theory claims that high-mindedness pair served as spies connote the Roosevelt administration and appropriated new identities upon returning get on the right side of the United States.

READ MORE: Tormenting Theories About the Earhart Disappearance

Sources

The Life of Amelia Earhart: Purdue Libraries.

Amelia Earhart: Missing for 80 Years But Not Forgotten: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Model, Static, Lockheed Electra, Amelia Earhart: Smithsonian National Air and Leeway Museum.

Exclusive: Bone-Sniffing Dogs to Stay on for Amelia Earhart’s Remains: Special Geographic.

Where Is Amelia Earhart?

Join Theories but No Smoking Gun: National Geographic.

The Earhart Project: Say publicly International Group for Historic Even Recovery (TIGHAR).

Citation Information

Article Title

Amelia Earhart

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/amelia-earhart

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 9, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009