Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart
Earhart, c. 1928
Born	Amelia Mary Earhart (1897-07-24)July 24, 1897 Atchison, Kansas, U.S.
Disappeared	July 2, 1937 (aged 39) Pacific Ocean, en route to Howland Island from Lae, Papua New Guinea
Status	Declared dead in absentia January 5, 1939(1939-01-05) (aged 41)
Nationality	American
Known for	Many early aviation records, including first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Spouse(s)	George P. Putnam
Website	ameliaearhart.com
Signature

Amelia Mary Earhart (/ˈɛərhɑːrt/; July 24, 1897 – disappeared July 2, 1937) was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment. 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. In 1935 Earhart became a visiting faculty member at Purdue University as an advisor to aeronautical engineering and a career counselor to women students. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.

During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.

Earhart was the daughter of Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (1867-1930) and Amelia "Amy" (nee Otis) (1869–1962). She was born in Atchison, Kansas, in the home of her maternal grandfather, Alfred Gideon Otis (1827–1912), who was a former federal judge, the president of the Atchison Savings Bank and a leading citizen in the town. Amelia was the second child of the marriage, after an infant stillborn in August 1896. She was of part German descent. Alfred Otis had not initially favored the marriage and was not satisfied with Edwin's progress as a lawyer.