famous firsts
Amelia Mary Earhart AMERICAN (1897-1937)
The first woman to fly across the Atlantic
Her early years
Amelia was born in her grandparents' house in Kansas. Her parents didn't have any money, but her grandparents were rich and sent her to the best schools. At 20 she decided to study nursing and worked in a hospital in World War I. When she was 23, she visited an airshow and went up in a plane. At that moment, she knew that she wanted to be a pilot.
What she did
In 1920 flying was dangerous and people didn't think it was an activity for women. But Amelia had flying lessons, and a year later, she broke her first record-she flew up to first woman (and the second person) to fly alone across the Atlantic. She was now famous. and she travelled around the world to talk about her experiences. And in 1935, when she was 38, she became the first person to fly alone across the Pacific.