Amelia Earhart was a pilot who flew airplanes. She was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. She took her first airplane ride in December 1920. Then she learned to fly by taking flying lessons. In 1923 she received her pilot's license. Over the years she set many flying records. In 1928 she rode as a passenger on the Friendship. Two men flew the plane across the Atlantic. She was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air.

In August 1929 she finished third in the first air race across the United States for women. In 1931 she was the first woman to fly an autogiro. She set an altitude record in it. She was also the first president of the Ninety-Nines, a group of women pilots. In May 1932 she flew a Lockheed Vega. It went from Newfoundland across the Atlantic to Northern Ireland. Ice formed on its wings during the flight.

She became the first woman, and the second person, to fly alone across the Atlantic. The 1932 flight made her an international hero. On January 11, 1935, she began a flight alone from Honolulu to Oakland. She flew over the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California. In 1935 she also joined Purdue University as a counselor on careers for women. In 1937 Earhart tried to fly around the world.

She flew a Lockheed Electra. The flight set off from Miami, Florida, on June 1, 1937. Fred Noonan was the navigator who flew with her. In July 1937 they left New Guinea heading for tiny Howland Island. The Coast Guard cutter Itasca was waiting there to support the flight. On July 2, 1937, radio contact between Earhart's plane and the Itasca was lost.

After her plane went missing, ships and planes searched for her. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard carried out a very large search in July 1937. The official search ran from July 2 to July 18, 1937. It lasted about two weeks and found no trace of the plane or its crew.

Words to know

• autogiro: flying machine
• navigator: route finder
• cutter: Coast Guard ship
• counselor: a guide