Our icon was born on 24 July 1897. As soon as she began to walk, she showed a personality very different from the women of her time: she liked to travel, climb, jump and investigate.
Despite the family problems that made her childhood very difficult, she was able to study at Columbia University. At the age of 20, she began to work as a nurse looking after soldiers coming back from the First World War.
As a result of this contact with the military, and a visit to the Royal Air Corps, Amelia knew that her place was near aeroplanes.
Neta Snook, the first woman to found a flight school and run a private airport, taught Amelia to fly. And, against all odds, Snook never saw potential in Earhart.
Despite not having the confidence of her mentor, she began flying “The Canary”, a prototype of the well-known Kinner aeroplane. Due to the conditions of the aircraft at the time, accidents were commonplace, and Amelia had her first mishaps flying this craft.
But it wasn’t all bad news! In 1922, she broke her first record, flying at an altitude of 4.2 kilometres.
In 1923, she was licensed as a pilot by the International Aeronautical Federation, and in 1927 she joined the National Aeronautical Association, began to promote aviation among women and helped build a runway.
As you can see, Amelia never stopped making history. She achieved several records in just a few years:
As early as 1934, she planned a flight across the Pacific, from Hawaii to California. Nothing could stop her, not even knowing that 10 pilots died trying to do it.
After successfully crossing the Pacific, Amelia Earhart’s next goal was to make a world voyage. Together with Fred Noonan, who had already crossed the Pacific, she began her attempt at travelling around the world.
On 1 June 1937, she set off from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico. She passed through several Latin American countries, crossed Africa and the Red Sea. She went through India, Singapore, Bangkok and all went well until she reached Papua New Guinea.
On the way to Howland Island, the aircraft’s trail was lost. They were at an altitude of more than 3,500 metres, and the trackers could not determine their position. Following a message reporting fuel problems, Earhart and Noonan disappeared in the skies over the Solomon Sea on 2 July 1937.
As early as 1940, skeletal remains were discovered on Nikumaroro Island, believed to be Earhart and her companion, but this evidence has yet to be verified.
The legend of Amelia Earhart is such that in 2009 a film called “Amelia” was released, which tells the story of the life of one of the most important aviation figures in history.
Speaking of films about aviation… I’m sure you know Top Gun. We leave you this post about the premiere of Top Gun Maverick, a film that marked a whole generation. And soon, don’t miss it, we will bring you a post about aviation films.
We hope you liked this post about Amelia Earhart’s story. In our aeronautical blog you can also read about other iconic women in the sector, such as Bettina Kadner, the first woman commander in Spain.
