Amelia Earhart Timeline

1897 Jul 24 Amelia Earhart is born
Amelia Mary Earhart, daughter of Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (March 28, 1867) and Amelia "Amy" Otis Earhart (1869–1962), was born in Atchison, Kansas, in the home of her maternal grand...
1920 Dec 28 Amelia Earhart experiences her first flight with Frank Hawks
By 1919 Earhart prepared to enter Smith College but changed her mind and enrolled at Columbia University signing up for a course in medical studies among other programs. She quit a year l...
1921 Jan 3 Amelia Earhart takes first flying lesson
Earhart had her first lessons, beginning on January 3, 1921, at Kinner Field near Long Beach but to reach the airfield Amelia took a bus to the end of the line, then walked four miles (6 ...
1921 Jul Amelia Earhart buys her first plane
She hired Neta Snook, the first woman instructor to graduate from the Curtiss School of Aviation, to teach her. She paid for the first lessons by driving a sand and gravel truck. After o...
1922 Oct 22 Amelia Earhart sets altitude record for female pilots
On October 22, 1922, Earhart flew the Airster to an altitude of 14,000 feet (4,300 m), setting a world record for female pilots. On May 15, 1923, Earhart became the 16th woman to be issue...
1928 Jun 17 Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly across the Atlantic
After Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, Amy Phipps Guest, (1873–1959), expressed interest in being the first woman to fly (or be flown) across the Atlantic Ocea...
1929 Aug First Women's Air Derby, Powder Puff Derby
Earhart subsequently made her first attempt at competitive air racing in 1929 during the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland Women's Air Derby (later nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by Will...
1931 Feb 7 Amelia Earhart marries George Putnam
For a while she was engaged to Samuel Chapman, a chemical engineer from Boston, breaking off her engagement on November 23, 1928. During the same period, Earhart and Putnam had spent a gr...
1932 May 20 Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
On May 20-21, 1932, Earhart accomplished her goal of flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She took off from Newfoundland, Canada, at 7:12 p.m. on May 20, in her Lockheed Vega. Her fligh...
1932 Aug 24
to 1932 Aug 25
 Amelia Earhart Becomes the First Woman to Fly Solo from Coast-to-Coast
On August 24-25, 1932, she flew from Los Angeles, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in a record 19 hours, 5 minutes, flying a Lockheed Vega, also becoming the first woman to fly solo coa...
1935 Amelia Earhart is first woman in Bendix Trophy Race
Earhart again participated in long-distance air racing, placing fifth in the 1935 Bendix Trophy Race, the best result she could manage considering that her stock Lockheed Vega topping out...
1935 Jan 11 Amelia Earhart becomes first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California
On January 11, 1935, Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California. Although this transoceanic flight had been attempted by many others, most no...
1935 Apr 19 Amelia Earhart becomes first person to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City
That year, once more flying her faithful Vega which she had tagged "old Bessie, the fire horse," Earhart soloed from Los Angeles to Mexico City on April 19. The next record attempt was a ...
1937 Mar 17 Amelia Earhart's first attempt to fly around the world
On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1937, they flew the first leg from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition to Earhart and Noonan, Harry Manning and Hollywood stunt pilot Paul...
1937 Jun 1 Amelia Earhart's second attempt to fly around the world begins
While the Electra was being repaired Earhart and Putnam secured additional funds and prepared for a second attempt. This time flying west to east, the second attempt began with an unpubli...
1937 Jul 2 Amelia Earhart disappears near Howland Island
On July 2, 1937 (midnight GMT) Earhart and Noonan took off from Lae in the heavily loaded Electra. Their intended destination was Howland Island, a flat sliver of land 6,500 ft (2,000 m) ...
1937 Jul 19 Search for Amelia Earhart is called off
Beginning approximately one hour after Earhart's last recorded message, the USCG Itasca undertook an ultimately unsuccessful search north and west of Howland Island based on initial assum...
2008 Apr 6 USNS Amelia Earhart is Launched
USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE-6), a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for noted American aviation pioneer and women's rights advocat...