Amelia Mary Earhart was born on the 24th of July 1897; she was a renowned and the first female aviator pioneer and author who disappeared on the 2nd of July 1937. She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record. She set many other records,wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.
Earhart joined the faculty of the Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and helps inspire others with her love for aviation. She was also a member of the National Woman’s Party, and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
In 1915, after a long search, Earhart’s father found work as a clerk at the Great Northern Railway in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Earhart entered Central High School as a junior. Edwin applied for a transfer to Springfield, Missouri, in 1915 but the current claims officer reconsidered his retirement and demanded his job back, leaving the elder Earhart with nowhere to go.
Facing another calamitous move, Amy Earhart took her children to Chicago where they lived with friends. Earhart made an unusual condition in the choice of her next schooling; she canvassed nearby high schools in Chicago to find the best science program.
When the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic reached Toronto, Earhart was engaged in arduous nursing duties including night shifts at the Spadina Military Hospital.
She became a patient herself, suffering from pneumonia and maxillary sinusitis. She was hospitalized in early November 1918 owing to pneumonia and discharged in December 1918; about two months after the illness had started.
In 1931, Amelia married George, but continued her aviation career under her maiden name. Amelia and George formed a successful partnership. George organized Amelia’s flights and public appearances, and arranged for her to endorse a line of flight luggage and sports clothes.
After a series of record-making flights, she became the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight in 1932. That same year, Amelia developed flying clothes for the Ninety-Nines.
Her first creation was a flying suit with loose trousers, a zipper top and big pockets. Amelia made great strides in opening the new field of aviation to women. In 1935, Amelia became the first person to fly from Hawaii to the American mainland.
By doing so, Amelia became not only the first person to solo anywhere in the Pacific, but also the first person to solo both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Also in 1935, Amelia joined the faculty of Purdue University as a female career consultant.
On the 2nd of July 1937, Amelia vanished along with her navigator Frederick Noonan. They took off from Lae, New Guinea, bound for tiny Howland Island in the vast Pacific Ocean.
The distance from Lae to Howland was about equal to a transcontinental flight across the U.S. To this day, their fate is the subject of unending speculation but her legacy still lives on.