Presidents and Celebrities: Herbert Hoover and Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer whose fame grew after she became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. This wasn't her only accomplishment of note as a pilot; she set many other records and she was also one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel. She was also an author who wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences. She was one of the founders of an organization known as The Ninety-Nines, made up of female pilots.
Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas. She began flying at a young age, beginning in her twenties. In 1928, Earhart became the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by airplane (accompanying pilot Wilmer Stultz). When interviewed after landing, Earhart was modest, stating, "Stultz did all the flying—had to. I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes." She then added, "Maybe someday I'll try it alone." When the Stultz flight crew returned to the United States on July 6, they were greeted with a ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan, followed by a reception with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.
Four years later, in 1932, she achieved celebrity status by piloting a Lockheed Vega 5B on a nonstop solo transatlantic flight. She became the first woman to achieve such a feat. She received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment.
Earhart had first visited President Herbert Hoover at the White House on January 2, 1932, before her epic flight. That took place later that year in May. On the morning of May 20, 1932, 34-year-old pilot took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, with a copy of that day's Telegraph-Journal, given to her by journalist Stuart Trueman to confirm the date of the flight. She intended to fly to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5B to imitate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight five years earlier. Her flight lasted 14 hours and 56 minutes, and she had to contend with strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems. She never made it to Paris and instead, Earhart landed in a pasture at Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. The landing was witnessed by Cecil King and T. Sawyer.
President Hoover sent the following message to Earhart on May 21, 1932:
I voice the pride of the Nation in congratulating you most heartily upon achieving the splendid pioneer solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic Ocean. You have demonstrated not only your own dauntless courage but also the capacity of women to match the skill of men in carrying through the most difficult feats of high adventure.
HERBERT HOOVER
Earhart received 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. On June 21, 1932, President Hoover presented the gold medal of the National Geographic Society to Earhart to commemorate her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The presentation of that award by President Hoover, and Amelia Earhart's brief remarks can be seen in the last part of the video embedded below:
Earhart also developed a friendships with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The two had a number of common interests and passions including feminist causes. After flying with Earhart, Roosevelt obtained a student permit but did not further pursue her plans to learn to fly. In 1935, Earhart became a visiting faculty member at Purdue University as an advisor to aeronautical engineering and a career counselor to female students. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
During an attempt at becoming the first woman to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. The two were last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, on the last land stop before Howland Island and one of their final legs of the flight. She is presumed to have died in the Pacific during the circumnavigation, just three weeks prior to her fortieth birthday. Nearly one year and six months after she and Noonan disappeared, Earhart was officially declared dead. Significant public interest in her disappearance remains over 80 years later.
Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas. She began flying at a young age, beginning in her twenties. In 1928, Earhart became the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by airplane (accompanying pilot Wilmer Stultz). When interviewed after landing, Earhart was modest, stating, "Stultz did all the flying—had to. I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes." She then added, "Maybe someday I'll try it alone." When the Stultz flight crew returned to the United States on July 6, they were greeted with a ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan, followed by a reception with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.
Four years later, in 1932, she achieved celebrity status by piloting a Lockheed Vega 5B on a nonstop solo transatlantic flight. She became the first woman to achieve such a feat. She received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment.
Earhart had first visited President Herbert Hoover at the White House on January 2, 1932, before her epic flight. That took place later that year in May. On the morning of May 20, 1932, 34-year-old pilot took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, with a copy of that day's Telegraph-Journal, given to her by journalist Stuart Trueman to confirm the date of the flight. She intended to fly to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5B to imitate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight five years earlier. Her flight lasted 14 hours and 56 minutes, and she had to contend with strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems. She never made it to Paris and instead, Earhart landed in a pasture at Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. The landing was witnessed by Cecil King and T. Sawyer.
President Hoover sent the following message to Earhart on May 21, 1932:
I voice the pride of the Nation in congratulating you most heartily upon achieving the splendid pioneer solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic Ocean. You have demonstrated not only your own dauntless courage but also the capacity of women to match the skill of men in carrying through the most difficult feats of high adventure.
HERBERT HOOVER
Earhart received 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. On June 21, 1932, President Hoover presented the gold medal of the National Geographic Society to Earhart to commemorate her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The presentation of that award by President Hoover, and Amelia Earhart's brief remarks can be seen in the last part of the video embedded below:
Earhart also developed a friendships with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The two had a number of common interests and passions including feminist causes. After flying with Earhart, Roosevelt obtained a student permit but did not further pursue her plans to learn to fly. In 1935, Earhart became a visiting faculty member at Purdue University as an advisor to aeronautical engineering and a career counselor to female students. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
During an attempt at becoming the first woman to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. The two were last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, on the last land stop before Howland Island and one of their final legs of the flight. She is presumed to have died in the Pacific during the circumnavigation, just three weeks prior to her fortieth birthday. Nearly one year and six months after she and Noonan disappeared, Earhart was officially declared dead. Significant public interest in her disappearance remains over 80 years later.