Amelia Earhart Biography

Amelia Earhart, full name, Amelia Mary Earhart, was the world’s most celebrated American aviator, author, and women's rights activist. Earhart was the first lady pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. A 20th-century child, Amelia was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. Her parents were Samuel Stanton Earheart and Amelia Otis Earhart. She became the first woman pilot, and the second person after Charles Lindbergh, to fly non-stop and solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In this Amelia Earhart biography for kids, we will learn more about her life, achievements, and records.

(Image will be uploaded soon)

Flying an aircraft named Red Lockheed Vega 5B, she started her journey from Harbour Race, Newfoundland, Canada, and arrived near Londonderry, Northern Island 15 hours later. This achievement made Amelia an immediate worldwide sensation and proved that she was an able and courageous pilot. Amelia achieved the title of the first woman to first fly solo, non-stop flight across the United States, from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, within a record time of 19 hours and 5 minutes. This achievement enabled her to set a woman’s distance record of 3938 kilometers (2,447 miles).

(Image will be uploaded soon)

Amelia Earhart: Early Life

Amelia Earhart, “Queen of the Air”, was born before the plane ever existed. Like many little girls, Amelia spent most of her precious time playing games with her little sister Grace (pet name Pidge). Both the sisters used to spend their lovely time climbing trees, hunting rats with a rifle, and “belly-slamming” their sledges downhill in winters.

Amelia's family moved to Chicago when she was in high school. Amelia joined Hyde Park High School to pursue her graduate degree. She continued to look for the possibilities of a future career after completing a graduate degree. She was fond of maintaining a sketchbook of newspaper clippings about successful women who pursued jobs that most people thought belonged to men only, 

When Amelia completed her graduation, airplanes were new and exciting. In 1920 Amelia and her father, Samuel Stanton visited an airfield, where she took her first ride in an airplane. That ride changed her life forever. She exclaimed, “By the time I had got 200-300 feet off the ground I perceived I had to fly.”. So, Amelia finally learned to fly an airplane. She brought a bright yellow second-hand airplane within the first six months of her first highlight, which she nicknamed “The Canary”. On October 22, 1922, Amelia took her aircraft to an altitude of 14,000 feet, which made her set a world record for female pilots.

Amelia Earhart Canary

In July 1921, Amelia Earhart purchased a second-hand Kinner Airster Biplane for $2000 and named it “The Canary'' because of its bright yellow chromium paint. During those days, the United States had less than 100 female pilots.

(Image will be uploaded soon)

Amelia Aviation Records

During the 1920s, Amelia was completely indulged in breaking records for flying. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh, the first man's pilot, made a record to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. After a year of this achievement, Amelia was asked to join another pilot on a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Although Amelia was delighted to join him, she wished to fly across the Atlantic all alone. She said, maybe someday, “I’ll try to fly alone.”.

Amelia became popular because she was such a competent woman pilot. Some reporters gave her the name “Queen of the Air”. Amelia always looked to set records of her own. In 1928, Amelia achieved the title of first woman pilot to fly solo across North America and back again. Then in 1931, she flew higher than anyone can, flying up to 18,415 feet in altitude. On the morning of May 29, 1932, 34 years old Amelia Earhart set off from the United States to reach Paris, France, and flew for about 14 hours and 56 minutes.

During that time, she had to face strong winds, ice, and mechanical issues. Finally, she saw land and landed safely. But, she had landed in a pasture in Ireland instead of Paris. Although Amelia Earhart set many new records, she wanted to do something adventurous. She wished to fly all around the world. This was hard to accomplish, and she needed to set her records carefully. To achieve this dream, Amelia asked a Hollywood stunt pilot named Paul Mantz to help improve her long-distance flying skills. 

She also joined Purdue University so she could teach other women who wanted to be pilots. At this university, she joined the Department of Aeronautics. Although Amelia is not the first pilot to cover all corners of the world, yet, the longest path was chosen by Amelia, which is at the equator. A special plane with a large fuel tank was designed for her. She requested Fred Noonan to be her navigator as he knew how to navigate boats and planes.

Amelia Adventurous Ride

On March 17, 1937, Amelia started her flight from California and reached Honolulu, Hawaii 5 hours and 47 minutes later. She began this adventurous ride with her navigator, Fred Noonan, Captain Harry Manning, and stunt pilot Paul Mantz to help with the flight. The plane had few issues so they had to stop the flight and return to California to get the plane fixed. Amelia tried again soon after the plane got fixed. This time she flew towards Florida from California with her navigator, Fred Noonan. 

On June 1, 1937, they both flew from Miami, Florida. Both Amelia and Fred Noonan took several stops in different places like India, Africa, South America, and Lae, New Guinea. Finally, they arrived at Lae, Papua New Guinea on June 29, 1937. They had covered about 22,000 miles. They had left with only one last stop to finish the journey. This last stoppage would be over the Pacific Ocean. 

Both Amelia and Fred set off to visit Howland Island, over 2,000 miles away. However, something went wrong, and Amelia’s plane lost its view, and they could not be traced thereafter.

American Aviator Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She achieved the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record and also had set many other records. She became a best-selling author. On July 2, 1937, her airplane disappeared while flying over the central Pacific Ocean and was never found.