Story of Amelia Earhart
Intriguing story of an American aviator, author and women’s rights activist.
Young Amelia and her sister were setting up a trap to catch the neighbourhood cat when their mother called them to have lunch. The two little girls were crazy, brave and stubborn and were very unlike the girls we would find around. Amelia’s friends addressed her as the “The girl in brown who walks alone.”
One day, ten-year-old Amelia took a cart to the roof of the house and played rollercoaster and she crashed down on the ground, being severely injured. Her sister came running to check if she was okay, to which Amelia said, “Oh, it's just the blood, but I could fly”.
She had this very deep desire to fly. But, during the State Fair, when her father dragged her along to show an aircraft, Amelia said,
“It’s a thing of rusty wire and wood and not at all interesting.”
Her family was going through some really unfortunate events in her childhood and they were financially in the bottom. Amidst all these issues, Amelia held her head high by continuously looking into the lives of successful women in male-dominated fields.
In 1917, Amelia Earhart became a nurse to take care of the soldiers who served for the country in World War II. After a year she was affected with Spanish Flu and had severe after-effects throughout her life.
Amelia and her family once went to an air show. When the pilot was showing his flight tricks by scaring away people who were standing around, Amelia did not move. That is when her obsession to fly returned back to her soul.
“But I believe that little red airplane said something to me as it swished by”
— Amelia Earhart
On December 28, 1920, Amelia’s father took her to meet Frank Hawks, who offered them an aeroplane ride. After a few minutes of flight, she had this urge to fly.
She worked day and night as a stenographer, photographer and even as a truck driver. She arranged $1,000 for her flying lessons. After almost a year she went to Anita Shook, a female pilot with just one request,
“I want to fly. Will you teach me?”
— Ameila Earhart
Amelia wore a torn leather jacket and had short hair, while she was riding her first flight, which she named “The Canary”.
After and year on 1922, young Amelia flew her Canary to an altitude of 14,000 feet. And she set a world record for female pilots. She had to sell Canary to meet with the family’s financial needs.
And in April 1928, while Amelia was having her morning tea, she received a phone call asking if she would like to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Amelia’s eyes glowed in hope. Unfortunately, she was just a co-pilot and was not given a chance to fly.
Like her early childhood dream, Amelia Earhart become one among the most successful women. She had placed her hands on many industries, including flying aircraft, fashion, media, photography, writing and airline management.
It was time for another world record when she took her flight to an altitude, reaching 18,415 feet. This made her the president of Women Aviation team.
On the beautiful day of May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart took off in her flight from Newfoundland, to Paris. But she could sense her flight being disrupted by wind, snowflakes and thick clouds. Amelia found no other way but to land in Ireland, that too in a cattle farm.
For this first solo fifteen-hour flight by a woman across the Atlantic, she became an international aviation hero.
Adventure is worthwhile in itself.
Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.
The most effective way to do it, is to do it.— Amelia Earhart
39-year-old Amelia Earhart was thinking of flying around the world, which would be twenty-nine-thousand miles. She wanted to be the first woman to do so. This was life-changing for Amelia. On June 1, 1937, She with her guide Noonan, left Miami. After flying for 29 days they reached New Guinea. They had only seven-thousand more miles to go.
The final stop was the Howland Island. But they failed to spot it. They had to face a hard weather. And their radio antenna stopped working. Amelia, Noonan and their flight were never seen again. Her last words were:
“We are running north and south.” — Amelia Earthart at 8:43 AM
The search continued for weeks, months and years and today even after 83 years nothing was found. She was declared dead in 1939.
But what happened? Where did this International hero disappear? Theories are endless!
A. Crashed in the Ocean
It’s said that, their flight crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island, because they ran out of fuel.
B. The 1940 Theory
A British officer found parts of skeleton on the Howland island. He also claims to have found a campfire and worn out remainings of a man’s shoe and a woman’s shoe. He concluded it was Noonan and Amelia.
C. Most Recent Theory (2017)— Japanese Abduction
In July 2017, a photo was discovered showing that Earhart and Noonan actually survived the crash and were taken away as slaves by the Japanese in the Marshall Islands.
“After midnight, the moon set, and I was alone with the stars. I have often said that the lure of flying is the lure of beauty, and I need no other flight to convince me that the reason flyers fly, whether they know it or not, is the esthetic appeal of flying.”
— Amelia Earhart
Love,
Dona
