Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)
A seasoned pilot who had been flying on her own since 1921, Amelia Earhart readily consented in 1928 to travel as a passenger on a transatlantic flight. Upon emerging from the plane in Wales, she was catapulted to overnight fame as the first woman to fly the Atlantic, and she was soon America's leading female spokesperson for the infant aviation industry. Four years later, her reputation took a quantum leap when she piloted a solo flight across the Atlantic. Much as Charles Lindbergh had been feted for being the first person to perform that feat in 1927, so Earhart found herself wildly celebrated for being the first woman to do it. She was now dubbed "Lady Lindy," and in the picture here she is shown waving to the crowds who had turned out to honor her in post-flight ceremonies at New York City Hall.
In the spring of 1937, eager for "just one more flight," Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan took off on a round-the-world trip to gather data geared to improving global air travel. On July 2, their plane disappeared over the South Pacific, and they were never heard from again. Exactly what went wrong remains one of aviation's great mysteries even today.
Unidentified photographer for Acme Newspictures, Inc.
Gelatin silver print, 1932
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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