A small one-engine plane with "The Spirit of St. Louis" painted on the side lands at Le Bourget field, in the midst of thousands of cheering spectators. A tall, thin, sandy haired, twenty-five-year-old man emerges from the cockpit and timidly smiles. Modestly, he says, "Are there any mechanics here? What this man has just accomplished is something nobody had done before: fly nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean alone. This was one of the many achievements of this man we call Lindbergh, who created drama and interest in the lives of many people across the globe. On February 4, 1902,Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born to Charles Lindbergh, Sr., and Evangeline Land Lodge. His father was a practicing lawyer in Little Falls, Minnesota and later an U.S. congressman. His mother taught chemistry at the local high school. Although he was born in Detroit, he grew up on a farm near Little Falls, Minnesota. He was the son of a Michigan congressman and therefore spent a large amount of his time in Washington, DC.Lindbergh was also a whiz with mechanics. By age twelve, he was in charge of driving and fixing the car. In high school, he assembled a tractor from a mail order kit. So after he graduated from Little Falls High, Lindbergh entered the University of Wisconsin to study engineering. He found he was more interested in flying, so he enrolled in the Nebraska Aircraft Corporation in March of 1922. He became a barnstormer, which was a pilot who performed daredevil stunts at fairs. In April of 1923 Lindbergh traveled to Americus, GA and purchased his first plane and as soon as the plane was completed he took his first solo flight. Then On March 19, 1924 at the age of 22, Lindbergh enlisted in the U.S. Army. In 1925 he graduated as the top pilot in his class and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. April 1926, he began working as a mail deliverer between St. Louis and Chicago. Lindbergh soon heard of an offer given in 1919...
