Amelia Earhart: A Timeline of Achievements

'Not much more than a month ago I was on the other shore of the Pacific, looking westward. This evening, I looked eastward over the Pacific. In those fast-moving days, which have intervened, the whole width of the world has passed behind us -except this broad ocean. I shall be glad when we have the hazards of its navigation behind us ' - Amelia Earhart.

Amelia was a famous symbol of female emancipation. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Her life has served as an inspiration to all the people in the world, men and women alike. She had many significant accomplishments in the field of aviation. Her disappearance is a mystery to this day.

1897: Amelia was born on July 24 in Atchison, Kansas. Her father was Edwin Stanton Earhart. Her mother was Amy Otis.

1908: Amelia had the first glimpse of an airplane at the Iowa State Fair.

1913: Amelia attended Central High School in St Paul, Minnesota.

1916: She graduated from Hyde Park High School in St Paul, Minnesota.

1917: She became a nurse's aide in a Canadian military hospital during the First World War.

1919: She enrolled in Columbia University to become a doctor.

1920: Amelia discontinued her studies in Columbia University

1921: Amelia started flying lessons under the guidance of Neta Snook. She learned flying at the age of twenty-four.

1922: Amelia became the first woman to fly at an altitude of 14,000 feet. She bought her first plane, which she nicknamed 'The Canary'.

1923: She became the 16th women to be issued a pilot's license by FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).

1927: She completed 500 hours of solo flying in airplanes.

1928: She became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic ocean. Her co- pilots were Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon.

1929: Earhart bought a single engine Lockheed Vega airplane.

1931: Earhart married George Putnam who was a book publisher and publicist.

1932: She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland. The flight duration was 14 hours, 56 minutes. The US Congress awarded her the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross). She was nominated as president of the 'Ninety Nines', a new women's aviation club.

1935: She became the first person to fly alone from Honolulu to California. She took part in long-distance air racing coming fifth in the Bendix Trophy race.

1937: Having set innumerable aviation feats, she planned a flight around the world. In March 1937, she flew to Hawaii with fellow pilot Paul Mantz to start the flight. She lost control of the plane during takeoff, however, and the plane had to be sent to the factory for repairs.

In June, she again went to Miami to begin a flight around the world with Fred Noonan as her navigator. No one knows the reason as to why she left behind the important navigation and communication instruments. They reached New Guinea in 21 days. At the same time, Earhart was exhausted and ill.

During the next leg of the trip, they left New Guinea for Howland Island, a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. July 2, 1937, was the last time Earhart and Noonan communicated with a US Coast Guard ship 'Itasca'. The United States launched a major search and rescue operation, which was abandoned on July 18.

1939: Two years after her disappearance, Amelia was declared legally dead in a Los Angeles Superior Court.

Though there are several disappearance theories, it is now hypothesized that Amelia went off the course and ran out of fuel, disappearing just north of the equator, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia.