Amelia Earhart, c. 1935 Born July 24, 1897 Atchison, Kansas, U.S. Disappeared July 2, 1937 (aged 39) Pacific Ocean, en route to Howland Island Status Declared dead in absentia January 5, 1939 (aged 41) Nationality American Known for First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and setting many aviation records. Spouse George P. Putnam
Amelia Earhart as a child Childhood Father: Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (March 28, 1867) Mother: Amelia "Amy" Otis Earhart (1869–1962) Earhart was named, according to family custom, after her two grandmothers (Amelia Josephine Harres and Mary Wells Patton). Earhart’s Maternal grandfather wasn’t happy with Edwin and Amy’s marriage because Edwin wasn’t a profitable lawyer…
As a child, Earhart spent long hours playing with Pidge , climbing trees, hunting rats with a rifle and "belly-slamming" her sled downhill. The girls kept "worms, moths, katydids and a tree toad" in a growing collection gathered in their outings. In 1904, with the help of her uncle, she cobbled together a home- made ramp fashioned after a roller coaster she had seen on a trip to St. Louis and secured the ramp to the roof of the family tool shed. Earhart's well-documented first flight ended dramatically. She emerged from the broken wooden box that had served as a sled with a bruised lip, torn dress and a "sensation of exhilaration." She exclaimed, "Oh, Pidge, it's just like flying!" Earhart was nicknamed Millie and her sister was nicknamed Pidge. Earhart was always characterized as a tomboy by biographers, but the outdoorsy behavior is very much common amongst youngsters.
The two sisters, Amelia and Muriel (she went by her middle name from her teens on), remained with their grandparents in Atchison, while their parents moved into new, smaller quarters in Des Moines. During this period, Earhart received a form of home- schooling together with her sister, from her mother and a governess. She later recounted that she was "exceedingly fond of reading" and...