S T A T S

A B O U T

Amelia Earhart was born on July 24th, 1897 in Atichson, Kansas. Spirited Amelia was classifiable as a tree-climbing, hill sledding tomboy, often accompanied in her adventures by her sister, Muriel (Pidge), at an early age. Their childhoods were, however, troubled by their father's insolvancy and alcholism.

Amelia first developed an interest in flying in 1920, while a student at Columbia University. Frank Hawks gave her a ride in his plane, permanently changing her life. "By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground," she said, "I knew I had to fly." Working a series of odd jobs, she earned enough money to take lessons with pioneering aviatrix Anita Snook.

Six months later, Amelia purchased a second-hand bright yellow Kinner Airster biplane which she nicknamed "The Canary." On October 22nd, 1922, Earhart flew the Airster to an altitude of 14,000 feet, setting a world record for female pilots. She had just gotten her license that May.

After abandoning her studies at Columbia (and further plans to continue metriculating at MIT) due to her parent's worsening finances, Amelia spent time in Boston trying to recuperate her health (she retained a sinus condition caused by treatments used to save her life during a battle with Spanish influenza in 1918). She settled there to become a teacher and social worker, without giving up her dreams of flying.

Charles Lindburgh's solo flight accross the Atlantic in 1927 would once again change Amelia's life. She was tracked down by publicist Captain Hilton H. Railey, who asked her if she'd be willing to make the same journey as Lindburgh.

Unfortunately, Amelia was relegated to instruments in a trip with Wilmer Stultz that made her the first female passanger in an Atlantic crossing. She dissapointedly hoped that maybe she'd get to fly the route herself some day.

The flight did do one thing; it served to increase Amelia's popularity. With Railey's help, she captured America's imagination; the press fondly reffered to her as "Lady Lindy", or, more prosaicly, "The Queen of the Air." She co-authored a book and embarked on a lecture tour, and mass-marketed her image on such objects such as luggage. Other deals didn't work out so well - a sponsorship deal with Lucky Strike cigarettes caused a bit of an image crises and cost her a deal with Redbook Magazine. Still she was heavily involved with the marketing of her image, especially when it came to a women's fashion line, which was sold at Macy's stores across the country. She published several more books with Putnam and Sons. Amelia also became an assoicate editior with Cosmopolitan magazine, and used her position to promote the advancement of women in aviation. She promoted TAT (eventually TWA) airlines alongside Charles Lindburgh and helped to promote the first commuter airplane service between New York and New Jersey. Generally, her presence was used to normalize air travel for the average American, making it seem less dangerous and exotic.

In August 1928, Amelia assumed the national spotlight again, flying a Avian 7083 across North America and back. In 1929 she competed in the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland Women's Air Derby, placing third.

In 1931, she married her editor, George Putnam - theirs was a partnership, without fidelity or servitude required, but with a sense of loyalty and love. They expected to divide finances equally and to be responsible each for their own duties.

Moving to the west coast after a fire, Amelia began training for a solo cross-Atlantic flight. On May 20th, 1932 she took off from Harbour Grace, New Foundland with a dated copy of the local newspaper. She intended to fly to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5b (which she nicknamed "old Bessie, the fire horse"), accompanied only by Norwegian American aviator Bernt Balchen. After a fourteen hour and fifty-six minute ride, Earhart landed in a pasture at Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. When a farm hand asked, "Have you flown far?" Amelia replied, "From America."

Amelia's star was now, firmly, launched. She recieved the Distinguished Flying Cross from Congress, the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French Government and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Herbert Hoover. Amelia enjoyed her fame but continued to train for further solo flights.

On January 11th, 1935, she became the first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California. On the 19th of April she soloed from Los Angeles to Mexico City. On May 8th, she flew from Mexico City to New York, where she was met with teaming throngs of people at the Newark airport. She also placed fifth in the Bendix Trophy Race that same year. She also began planning the solo flight that would, mysteriously, take her life.

On Saint Patrick's Day in 1937, an initial attempt to fly from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii was interrupted by a ground-loop. Pilot error was blamed, and the flight was called off to allow for repairs to Amelia's beloved Vega.

Amelia flew from Oakland to Miami, Florida, then announced her intention to circumnavigate the globe. On June 1st she took off from Miami and, by the 29th of June, she was Lae, New Guinea. The rest of the flight would require her to fly over the ocean, a dangerous prospect.

On July 2nd, Amelia attempted to approach Howland Island. Through a series of misunderstandings or errors (the details of which are still controversial), the final approach to Howland Island using radio navigation wasn't successful. After 8:43 AM on July 2nd, she was never heard from again.

Immediately, search and rescue teams were launched, but Amelia and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were never found. The search was called off on July 19th, and Amelia's legend was promptly entered into the history books. Many different stories relating to her dissapearence have surfaced in the ensuing years. Some even suggested she survived the crash landing of her Vega; however, her body is still missing, as is a definitive crash sight, so no real conclusions can be drawn. But Amelia's legacy thrives on, inspiring many immitators and thousands of accolades. - with assistance from wikipedia.com

R U L E S

We don't have that much in the way of rules to follow here; just follow these simple notions and you should be fine.

C O D E S

All made by Inge unless otherwise noted. To donate, attach to an email and send Here!

50x50

100x35

100x50

200x40

J O I N

To Join this listing, Click Here!
To edit your information, Click Here!

F A N S

To view members of this listing, Click Here!

L I N K S

TFL.org

A F F I L I A T E S

If you'd like to affiliate, send a 50x50 to this address. I accept listings related to Amelia only!