Science / Scientists Datebook: February 4
Brief biography of American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, "Lucky Lindy", "The Lone Eagle", famous for 'Spirit of St. Louis' flight from New York to Paris.
Lindbergh, the Pioneer Aviator
American Charles Lindbergh, known as the world's best-known aviator, was the pilot for the first solo, non-stop flight from New York to Paris in his 'Spirit of St. Louis.' His success boosted the aircraft industry. He is recognized for his innovations, the basis of modern intercontinental air travel.
Early Life
Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan in February 4, 1902, son of Charles Lindbergh, Sr., a Swedish immigrant who later became US Congressman, and mother, Evangeline Lodge Land, of English, French, and Irish descent. She was a teacher.
In 1922, he quit his mechanical engineering program, joined a pilot and mechanics training program, bought his own plane, and became a barnstormer, the "Daredevil Lindbergh." He trained as a pilot with the Army Air Service, while holding a job as an airline mechanic in Montana, working at Logan International Airport.
First Job
After finishing ahead in his pilot training class, Lindbergh took his first job as chief pilot of an airmail route in St. Louis, Missouri. He flew the mail in a de Havilland DH-4 biplane to Springfield, Peoria and Chicago, Illinois. He was renowned for delivering the mail under any circumstances. An account has it that once there was a crash, he even salvaged stashes of mail from his burning aircraft and immediately phoned Peoria's airport manager, advising him to send a truck.
Historic Non-Stop Flight from New York to Paris
In 1919, the Orteig Prize, a $25,000 prize offered by New York French hotelier Raymond Orteig, for the first non-stop flight from New York City to Paris. Some race challengers met deadly accidents crushing to death. Lindbergh won the Orteig Prize.
Lindbergh won the race and gained international fame as the first pilot to fly solo and non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. The rest is history. His plane, the single-engine aircraft "The Spirit of St. Louis" flew from Roosevelt Airfield, Long Island, New York to Paris on May 20-May 21, 1927 in 33.5 hours. The President of France bestowed on him the French Legion of Honor. On his arrival back in the US, a fleet of warships and aircraft escorted him to Washington, D.C. where President Calvin Coolidge awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross. His Grandson, Erik Lindbergh, repeated this trip 75 years later in 2002 in 17 hours 17 minutes.
Honours and Awards
A ticker-tape parade acclaiming his daring flight in 1927 was held for him down 5th Avenue in New York City. He was presented the Medal of Honor for his historic trans-Atlantic flight. Numerous other awards and honors were given to him in his lifetime including medals, star on Walk of Fame, and endless tributes. Some airfields, streets, and even schools have been named after him.
Love and Marriage
On May 27, 1929, Lindbergh married Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the daughter of diplomat Dwight Morrow. Apparently, she was the only woman he ever asked out on a date. Charles taught Anne how to fly, and did much of exploring and air routes charting with her. She's an established author (famous for 'Gift from the Sea') and flyer in her own right. They had six children: Charles Augustus II, Jon, Land, Anne, Scott, and Reeve.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh II, 20 months old, was abducted on March 1, 1932, from the Lindbergh home. After a nationwide 10-week search and ransom negotiations with the kidnappers, an infant corpse, identified by Lindbergh as his son, was found on May 12 in Jefferson, New Jersey, few miles from the Lindberghs' home. The kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's son inspired Agatha Christie's famous novel 'Murder on the Orient Express' two years later (also made into various film adaptations of the same name). The novel used many elements of the real life case: a young child, firstborn of the family, was kidnapped for ransom directly from the crib, the parents were famous, the father was a well-known pilot and the mother pregnant, and the ransom was paid but the child found dead soon after.
Exhausted in the media spotlight and still mourning the loss of their son, the Lindberghs moved to Europe in December 1935. Hauptmann, the man accused of the murder, maintained his innocence, found guilty and was executed.
Last Years
From 1960s, Lindbergh became an advocate for the conservation of the natural world emphasizing love of technology and nature, and a lifelong belief that "all the achievements of mankind have value only to the extent that they preserve and improve the quality of life." His book, Autobiography of Values, was published posthumously.
He spent his final years in Maui, Hawaii, where he died of cancer on August 26, 1974. An epitaph quotes the Bible's Psalms 139:9, which reads: "Charles A. Lindbergh Born: Michigan, 1902. Died: Maui, 1974. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea..."
Legacy
Despite the controversy surrounding his involvement in politics, Charles Lindbergh is an important pioneer in aviation. His 1927 flight literally changed the world overnight.
He wrote several books, including the well-known The Spirit of St. Louis (1953), an account of his historic trans-Atlantic flight. It won him the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for literature.
In honor of Charles and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh's vision of achieving balance between the technological advancements they helped pioneer, and the preservation of the human and natural environments, since 1978, the yearly Lindbergh Award has been given by the Lindbergh Foundation to deserving recipients.
Photo credit:
Charles Lindbergh. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain.
Resources:
Charles Lindbergh. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed February 4, 2009.
Clark, John, Editor. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary. London: Chancellor Press, 1996
McGovern, Una, Editor. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2002
Time/CBS News. People of the Century. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.
©
February 2009. Updated February 4, 2024. Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment