​"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."

• PILOT
• FIRST woman (and second person) to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
• Passionate advocate for women's equality in what was perceived as "male" industries and fields of work
• Before her aviation career, she worked at a hospital as a nurse during World War I, began (but didn't finish) medical school, and was a social worker
• She was also the FIRST person to fly across the Pacific from Hawaii to the US mainland, thus becoming the FIRST pilot to fly solo in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• Cofounder of the Ninety-Nines, an association of women pilots that now spans the globe
• Designed her own line of clothing
• Worked as a career consultant for women at Purdue University
• Lobbied President Hoover to support the Equal Rights Amendment (written by Alice Paul)
• Inspired by Annie Smith Peck, whom she said "pioneered when it was brave just to put on the bloomers necessary for mountain climbing"

Photo by Harris & Ewing [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

An Unsolved Mystery

Unfortunately, Amelia Earhart's adventurous and accomplished life is often overshadowed by her mysterious death: Nearing the end of her attempt to fly around the globe, she, her navigator, and their plane were lost in the Pacific Ocean and never found. There are many, many theories about what happened, and even now, eighty years later, interest in her disappearance hasn't waned. But while this is unquestionably a tragic end, let's refuse to allow this tragedy to define her, shall we? She was a brave, intelligent, and generous person who deserves more than that.

Bibliography: Drimmer, Stephanie W. National Geographic Kids: The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals. Washington DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC, 2016. Print.
Maggs, Sam. Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2016. Print.
Ware, Susan. “Earhart, Amelia.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Oxford University Press, Vol. 2, 2008, p. 121.​
​Biography of Amelia Earhart. http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org

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Support this organization dedicated to preserving her story:

Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum

Books by this Awesome Woman

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