Amelia Earhart
Today marks the 77th anniversary of Amelia Earhart‘s solo transatlantic flight. Earhart is largely regarded as a feminist icon not just for her views on feminine independence, but for being an extremely accomplished pilot at a time when such things were believed to be best suited for me. Among her many accomplishments as a pilot her most famous is, by far, her solo transatlantic flight which was completed on May 21, 1932. The flight was essentially an emulation of Charles Lindbergh‘s solo transatlantic flight five years earlier, showing that a woman was just as capable of performing the feat as a man.
Excerpt from Earhart’s Official Website Biography after the jump…
“…On May 20, 1932, she started the [solo transatlantic flight] from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Paris. Strong north winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems plagued the flight and forced her to land in a pasture near Londonderry, Ireland. ‘After scaring most of the cows in the neighborhood,’ she said, ‘I pulled up in a farmer’s back yard.’
“…President Herbert Hoover presented Earhart with a gold medal from the National Geographic Society. Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross-the first ever given to a woman. At the ceremony, Vice President Charles Curtis praised her courage, saying she displayed ‘heroic courage and skill as a navigator at the risk of her life.’ Earhart felt the flight proved that men and women were equal in ‘jobs requiring intelligence, coordination, speed, coolness and willpower.’
If you have a daughter, I’d say that today would be a great day to tell her about Ms Earhart. Let her know that girls are just as capable as boys. You may also want to ask her if she wants to see Amelia when it comes out in the theaters.
