KENDRIYA

VIDYALAYA
KUNJABAN NO. 1
ENGLISH PROJECT (PPT)
A PROJECT ON AMELIA
EARHART

Amelia Earhart
The greatest and
most ambitious
women pilot the
world has ever seen

Early
Life
Amelia Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, in America's
heartland. She spent much of her early childhood in the upper-middle class
household of her maternal grandparents. Amelia's mother, Amelia "Amy" Otis,
married a man who showed much promise, but had never been able to break the
bonds of alcohol. Edwin Earhart was on a constant search to establish his career
and put the family on a firm financial foundation. When the situation got bad, Amy
would shuttle Amelia and her sister Muriel to their grandparents' home. There
they sought out adventures, exploring the neighbourhood, climbing trees, hunting
for rats, and taking breath-taking rides on Amelia's sled.
Even after the family was reunited when Amelia was 10, Edwin constantly
struggled to find and maintain gainful employment. This caused the family to
move around, and Amelia attended several different schools. She showed early
aptitude in school for science and sports, though it was difficult to do well
academically and make friends. In 1915, Amy separated once again from her
husband, and moved Amelia and her sister to Chicago to live with friends. While
there, Amelia attended Hyde Park High School, where she excelled in chemistry.
Her father's inability to be the provider for the family led Amelia to become
independent and not rely on someone else to "take care" of her.

Early Career
At a Long Beach air show in 1920, Amelia Earhart took a
plane ride that transformed her life. It was only 10 minutes,
but when she landed she knew she had to learn to fly.
Working at a variety of jobs, from photographer to truck
driver, she earned enough money to take flying lessons from
pioneer female aviator Anita "Neta" Snook. Earhart immersed
herself in learning to fly. She read everything she could find
on flying, and spent much of her time at the airfield. She
cropped her hair short, in the style of other women aviators.
Worried what the other, more experienced pilots might think
of her, she even slept in her new leather jacket for three
nights to give it a more "worn" look.
Throughout this period, the Earhart family lived mostly on an
inheritance from Amy's mother's estate. Amy administered
the funds but, by 1924, the money had run out. With no
immediate prospects of making a living flying, Amelia Earhart
sold her plane. Following her parents' divorce, she and her
mother set out on a trip across the country starting in
California and ending up in Boston. In 1925 she again
enrolled in Columbia University, but was forced to abandon
her studies due to limited finances. Earhart found
employment first as a teacher, then as a social worker.
Earhart gradually got back into aviation in 1927, becoming a
member of the American Aeronautical Society's Boston
chapter. She also invested a small amount of money in the

Personal Life
Earhart had been close friends with
Dorothy Putnam, but rumours surfaced
about an affair between Earhart and
George Putnam, who both insisted the
early part of their relationship was strictly
professional. Unhappy in her marriage,
Dorothy was also having an affair with her
son's tutor, according toWhistled Like a
Bird, a book about Dorothy Putnam by her
granddaughter Sally Putnam Chapman.
The Putnams divorced in 1929, and soon
after their split, George Putnam actively
pursued Earhart, asking her to marry him
on several occasions, but Earhart
declined.
Finally, on February 7, 1931, Putnam and
Earhart were wed in Putnam's mother's

First Transatlantic Flight

After Charles Lindbergh's solo flight from New York to
Paris in May 1927, interest grew for having a woman fly
across the Atlantic. In April 1928, Amelia Earhart
received a phone call from Captain Hilton H. Railey, a
pilot and publicity man, asking her, "Would you like to
fly the Atlantic?" In a heartbeat she said "yes." She
traveled to New York to be interviewed, and met with
project coordinators, including publisher George P.
Putnam. Soon she was selected to be the first woman
on a transatlantic flight ... as a passenger. The wisdom
at the time was that such a flight was too dangerous
for a woman to conduct herself.
On June 17, 1928, Amelia Earhart took off from
Trespassey Harbor, Newfoundland, in a Fokker
F.Vllb/3m namedFriendship. Accompanying her on the
flight was pilot Wilmer "Bill" Stultz and copilot/mechanic Louis E. "Slim" Gordon. Approximately
20 hours and 40 minutes later, they touched down at
Burry Point, Wales, in the United Kingdom. Due to the
weather, Stultz did all the flying. Even though this was
the agreed upon arrangement, Earhart later confided

First Solo Flight Across the Atlantic

Amelia Earhart's public persona presented a gracious, if
somewhat shy, woman who displayed remarkable talent and
bravery. Yet deep inside, Earhart harboured a burning desire
to distinguish herself as different from the rest of the world.
She was an intelligent and competent pilot who never
panicked or lost her nerve, but she was not a brilliant
aviator. Her skills kept pace with aviation during the first
decade of the century but, as technology moved forward
with sophisticated radio and navigation equipment, Earhart
continued to fly by instinct.
She recognized her limitations and continuously worked to
improve her skills, but the constant promotion and touring
never gave her the time she needed to catch up.
Recognizing the power of her celebrity, she strove to be an
example of courage, intelligence and self-reliance. She
hoped her influence would help topple negative stereotypes
about women, and open doors for them in every field.
Sometime before their marriage, Earhart and Putnam worked
on secret plans for a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. By
early 1932, they had made their preparations. They
announced that on the fifth anniversary of Charles
Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic, Amelia would attempt

Earhart's Final Flight

In 1935, Amelia Earhart joined the faculty at Purdue
University as a female career consultant, and technical
advisor to the Department of Aeronautics. This partnership
helped finance the purchase of a Lockheed Electra L-10E
plane. While she would not be the first person to
circumnavigate the earth, she decided she would be the first
to do it around the equator. She pulled together a top-rated
crew of three men: Captain Harry Manning, Fred Noonan, and
Paul Mantz. Manning had been the captain of the President
Roosevelt, which brought her back from Europe in 1928, and
would become Earhart's first navigator. Noonan had vast
experience in both marine and flight navigation, and was to
be the second navigator. Mantz, a Hollywood stunt pilot, and
was chosen to be Earhart's technical advisor.
The original plan was to take off from Oakland, California, and
fly west to Hawaii. From there, the group would fly across the
Pacific Ocean to Australia. Then they would cross the subcontinent of India, on to Africa, then to Florida, and back to
California.
On March 17, 1937, they took off from Oakland on the first
leg. They experienced some periodic problems flying across
the Pacific, and landed in Hawaii for some repairs at the
United States Navy's Field on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.
After three days, the Electra began its takeoff, but something
went wrong. Earhart lost control, and looped the plane on the
runway. How this happened is still the subject of some

Disappearance and Theories

Realizing they had no more contact, the Itasca

began an immediate search. Despite the efforts
of 66 aircraft and nine shipsan estimated $4
million rescue authorized by President Franklin
D. Rooseveltthe fate of the two flyers
remained a mystery. The official search ended
on July 18th, 1937, but George Putnam financed
additional search efforts, working off tips of
naval experts and even psychics in an attempt
to find his wife. In October 1937, he
acknowledged that any chance of Earhart and
Noonan surviving was gone. On January 5, 1939,
Amelia Earhart was declared legally dead by the
Superior Court in Los Angeles.
Many theories emerged after the disappearance
of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. Some
believed Earhart was on a spy mission to the
Marshall Islands authorized by President
Roosevelt, and was captured by Japanese
troops. This theory extended to claiming that
Earhart was forced to broadcast to American GIs
as "Tokyo Rose" during World War II. Another

BY-KHUSHBOO MOG
CHOWDHARY
CLASS-IX B