5. Transatlantic solo flight in 1932
In May, 1932, five years after Lindbergh made his world-changing transatlantic solo flight, 34-year-old Amelia Earhart left Harbor Grace, in Newfoundland, to attempt to repeat the achievement. She planned to fly non-stop to Paris, as had Lindbergh, though her starting point was more than 1,700 miles closer to the intended destination. She used a Lockheed Vega 5B, an aircraft not equipped with floats (neither was the Spirit of Saint Louis flown by Lindbergh). Her flight of just under 15 hours took her as far as an Irish farmer’s pasture near Derry, Northern Ireland, 800 miles short of Paris, and Le Bourget Airfield.
Nonetheless, the flight cemented her fame as America’s leading aviatrix. She was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by act of Congress, and President Herbert Hoover bestowed the National Geographic Society’s Gold Medal upon her. The French government made her a Knight of the Legion of Honor, one of few women to have been so honored. Earhart used her celebrity and fame to further causes in which she held interests, and became a confidant of Eleanor Roosevelt’s, with whom she shared many views. Eleanor expressed interest in learning to fly, though the Secret Service took a dim view of the idea and encouraged the President to squelch it.