Biography
Amelia Mary Earhart is the greatest American because she was an amazing woman, an even better pilot and made a difference for women across the world. Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas with her grandparents, and lived with them until she was 12 years old. Her parents were Edwin and Amy Earhart, they were divorced.
Earhart took her first flight in 1920 and soon realized that she loved to fly. Earhart was a very determined woman and when she knew she wanted to do something she went for it. Back in the 1920’s woman were thought to not be able to do anything a man could do. Earhart said, “As soon as we left the ground, I knew I had to fly.”(1) She took lessons from Neta Snooks at Bert Kinner‘s airfield on Long Beach Boulevard. Soon Earhart proved the men wrong, she received her air licenses in December 1921. Short afterwards Earhart bought her first plane. Earhart had many jobs along with flying, like file Clark, office assistant and photographer. Soon after she bought her new plane Earhart had to sell it and buy a car to go visit parents and sister. Earhart’s parents finally remarried and then got divorced again. While Earhart stayed with her sister, she attended Columbia University for a year, but could no longer afford school. Later she became a social worker at a settlement house in Boston and joined NAA(National Aeronautics Association).
Earhart’s first flight was in 1922 and set a new altitude record of 14,000 feet. Shortly after in 1928 Earhart was asked to be interviewed to be the first woman to travel over the Atlantic Ocean, even though she was only a passenger she became very famous for being the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She and a male pilot flew a plane called the “Friendship”. A year later, in 1929 the Lockhead Company gave Earhart a plane called the Vega, a plane with only one wing to run in the first woman’s air derby. Earhart came in third place. (while the derby Earhart broke another speed record)
In February 1931 Earhart and George Putnam get married. Since Putnam was her assistant, the couple decided to carry on with their lives, including their job relationship and Earhart’s flying. In 1932 Earhart decided to fly the flight she flew in 1928,( Earhart called herself a sack of potatoes) and knew that she did nothing and was only a passenger wanted to the earn the credit for the flight. After returning from her flight Earhart was looked at as a “woman’s activist” so was asked to write an article in a magazine and went around to many lectures with her husband George Putnam. At this time Earhart was becoming very famous in all the magazines and newspapers.
Earhart decided she was going to fly around the equator. On Earhart’s 39th birthday Purdue University gave Earhart a new twin engine Lockhead Electra plane to fly her on her journey. On March 17, 1937 Earhart began to take off, and while take off she crashed. This was going to take 50,000 dollars to repair and take 5 weeks to repair. Earhart then decided to go another route, and decided to go west to east. Earhart replaced her other navigator with Fred Noonen. They set off on June 1, 1937. After going through Florida, Brazil, Africa, Arabia, Pakistan, Calcutla(India) and Burma the most dangerous part of their flight,was landing on a strip of land no bigger than 2 miles. The strip of land was surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Earhart and Noonan never made it to Howland Island.
Now you can defiantly understand why Amelia Earhart is the greatest American. She was a brave and respectable woman. She taught the world that you do not have to be a man to fly and woman can have an education. She will always be remembered and respected.
"Earhart, Amelia (1897-1937)." Student Resource Center- Gold. Gale, 2003. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
"Earhart, Amelia." Student Resource Center- Gold. Gale, 2003. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
Stong, Jennifer L. "Earhart, Amelia (1897-1937)." Student Resource Center- Gold. Gale, 1998. Web. 24 Feb. 2010.
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