I’m afraid much of March has gone by before I’ve had time to celebrate WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH. But any day is a good day to honor a notable woman. Today I’d like to celebrate AMELIA EARHART.
I can remember as a child in Kansas reading about Amelia. I thought it was so cool that this famous, daring woman had grown up not so far from me. She had attempted feats which no woman–and sometimes–no man had done before. I read a biography about her and was mesmerized.
In this childhood picture of Amelia, does she look like someone who would grow up to be so adventurous?
She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. Because of weather problems, she had to land her plane in a cow pasture, but she made it. In 1935, she flew solo across the Pacific. She was the first person to accomplish this trip. But on July 2, 1937 when she was attempting to fly solo around the world, her plane was lost near Howard Island in the Pacific. To this day, it is a mystery as to what exactly happened to Amelia on her last flight.
To read more about Amelia, go to your library and look in the biography section for some of these books about her amazing life:
WHO WAS AMELIA EARHART by Kate Boehm Jerome
AMELIA EARHART: YOUNG AVIATOR by Beatrice Gormley
AMELIA EARHART: MORE THAN A FLIER by Patricia Lakin
If you want to find more outstanding women, visit The Women’s Hall of Fame.