Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was an American aviator who set many flying records, and championed the advancement of women in aviation.
She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland.
During a flight to circumnavigate the globe, Miss Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937. Her plane wreckage was never found, and she was declared lost at sea.
In 1937, as Earhart neared her 40th birthday, she was ready for a monumental, and final, challenge: she wanted to be the first woman to fly around the world. "I have a feeling that there is just about one more good flight left in my system," Miss Earhart said prophetically, "and I hope this trip is it." On June 1st, Earhart and her navigator began their 29,000-mile journey. Frequently-inaccurate maps made navigation difficult, and every unessential item was removed from the plane to make room for additional fuel. Her radio transmissions, irregular through most of the flight, were faint or interrupted with static.
- In July, Earhart reported in regarding her location, but after trying to find direction, nothing further was heard from her.
- A rescue attempt was put forth immediately, quickly becoming the most extensive air and sea search in naval history.
- On July 19th, United States government reluctantly called off the operation.
Despite many theories, no proof of Earhart’s fate existed as research and expeditions followed throughout the years. Decades after her presumed death, Earhart was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, and in 1973, the National Women's Hall of Fame. Named in her honor are several commemorative memorials, parks, airports, a museum, and a minor planet.
Hundreds of years later, it was revealed that Earhart and her navigator were abducted by the Briori, who were in the business of kidnapping humans to use as slave labor. In 2371, the USS Voyager stumbled upon several statis pods in the Delta Quadrant, two of them containing Earhart and her navigator. Upon being revived by the Voyager crew, Earhart and the others that had been in suspended animation were given the option of joining the crew on their long journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Earhart and the others declined, however, and elected to remain with the other Human colonists, who had long since overthrown the Briori slavers.
Real-world factual information in this article taken from AmeliaEarhart.com, History.com, and Wikipedia.
