Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. She was thedaughter of a railroad attorney and had a younger sister named Muriel. Amelia was atomboy and was always interested in learning. She was educated at Columbia Universityand Harvard Summer School. She taught English to immigrant factory workers. DuringWorld War I, Amelia was a volunteer in a Red Cross hospital. Amelia heard of a woman pilot, Neta Snook, who gave flying lessons. She had herfirst lesson on January 2, 1921. On July 24, 1921, Amelia bought her first plane, aprototype of the Kinner airplane and named it The Canary.In 1928, she accepted the invitation of the American pilots Wilmer Stultzman andLouis Gordon to join them on a transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to make thecrossing by air She described the flight in a book she wrote, 20 Hours. 40 Minutes. Afterthat flight, Amelia made a career of flying.Aviation was a new concept and the industry looked for ways to improve itsimage. In 1921, Amelia was appointed Assistant to the General Traffic Manager andTranscontinental Air Transport (TWA) with a special responsibility of attracting womenpassengers.Amelia organized a cross-country air race for women pilots in 1929, the LosAngeles to Cleveland Womens Air Derby, later called the Powder Puff Derby. Ameliaplaced third in this race. After the race, Amelia had a meeting in her hotel room inCleveland with other women pilots. She formed a womens pilot organization called theNinety-Nines because of the ninety-nine applicants. She served as the organizationsfirst president. Amelia continued to work for TWA and was writing regular articles forCosmopolitan and other magazines, and had speaking engagements in many cities acrossthe country. In 1930, she broke several womens speed records in her Lockheed Vega aircraft. In 1931, she wrote a book about those exciting experiences called The Fun of It. By early1932, no other person had succe...
