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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1897 July 24 - 1937 July 2
  • Usage: 1897 - 1937

Biographical Note

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.

Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. Earhart trained as a nurse and enrolled in coursework on medical studies at Columbia University but quit after a year to move to California. She attended an aviation meet in 1920 in Long Beach, California and soon thereafter took her first ride as a passenger for a 10-minute flight which sparked her passion for flying. She had earned her pilot's license by 1923, being the 16th woman in the U.S. to be issue one. In 1928 she became the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane. In 1932 she was the first woman to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, for which she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Earhart mentored younger female students as a visiting faculty member at Purdue University. She was also a member of the National Women's Party and a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1931 Earhart married her public relations manager, George P. Putnam. In 1935, Earhart was the first to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii, To Oakland, California in a Lockheed 5C Vega. Later that year she flew from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City, and then from Mexico City to New York.

During an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937, she and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean. Earhart, Noonan, and her Lockheed Model 10-E Electra were never found, though searches continue to present day. Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939. Earhart was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1968 and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.

Citation:
https://www.ameliaearhart.com/biography/

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:

William E. Boeing Sr. Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 2005-10-06-B
Abstract

William E. Boeing, Sr. (1881-1956) was an aviation pioneer and founded The Boeing Company in 1916. The collection holds textual materials, such as correspondence, philately, business-related materials, clippings, and ephemera, as well as photographs and illustrations related to his personal and business life, circa 1783-2008. Major areas of interest include family photographs and extensive personal and business-related correspondence.

Dates: circa 1783-2008; Majority of material found within 1900s-1930s

Minnie M. Boyd Collection on The Ninety-Nines

 Collection
Identifier: 2017-03-28
Abstract

Minnie M. Boyd (1910-1998) was born in Four Lakes, Washington and was an avid aviator. This collection contains correspondence, organizational records, membership directories, photographs, clippings, printed materials, and ephemera related to the Ninety-Nines, Inc.,and gathered by Minnie M. Boyd during her time as a member.

Dates: circa 1920s-1998; Majority of material found within 1950s-1990s

Alan Lonsdale Patterson Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 2021-08-03-A
Overview Alan Lonsdale Patterson worked extensively in the field of aviation from the 1920s to the 1980s. Throughout his career he worked as a barnstormer, pilot and established multiple companies that facilitated the sale of aircraft and aeronautical equipment, predominately between companies based in the United States and China. The collection represents both his professional and personal life through correspondence, photographs, business records, clippings and audiovisual materials, as well as...
Dates: 1876-2021; Majority of material found within 1920-1981

Dorothy (Hester) Stenzel Pilot Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 1992-09-26
Abstract

Dorothy (Hester) Stenzel (1910-1991) was born in Ardenwald, Oregon and learned to fly in the late 1920s. Stenzel then gained fame for stunt flying and broke several records through the mid-1930s. The collection contains seven scrapbooks and assorted textual materials and photographs that document Stenzel's career as one of the first female stunt pilots.

Dates: circa 1928-1991

Jeanette R. (Rogowski) Witzkowski World War II Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2013-11-27
Contents of the Collection The Jeanette R. (Rogowski) Witzkowski World War II Collection relates to the World War II-era experience of Jeanette Witzkowski, who served as a pilot and air traffic controller during World War II. It includes primarily textual materials and a small amount of photographic prints, with the bulk of the material falling within 1935-1947. Textual materials include Civial Aeronuatics Administration (CAA) air traffic control instructional documents and aircraft clearance forms and...
Dates: 1935-1948,1983; Majority of material found within 1935-1948

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