Amelia Earhart: More Than A Mystery

Amelia Earhart: More Than a Mystery In March 1937 Amelia Earhart began her flight around the world. If successful she would be the first woman to complete such a feat. In a time when women weren’t seen as equals, Amelia proved that women could excel in the tasks and adventures that were traditionally held by men with her courage and many accomplishments. Amelia Earhart is one of the most famous pilots of all time because of her pioneering role in what she stood for, her accomplishments, and the mystery behind her ultimate fate.

Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas in 1897 and “grew up as a tomboy” (Netzley 12). From a young age she enjoyed playing outside, riding ponies, climbing trees and hunting. She was different from

Being a woman made Amelia’s accomplishments shine brighter because “the future for women then was limited- not much more to aspire to beyond motherhood and being a homemaker” (Masters). According to Biography.com, ”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”. Amelia’s love for flying and challenging the world’s ideas of what women could do inspired other women to do the same. Unlike Amelia Earhart, many female pilots had their sights set on flying in the Army although “there were no women ferry pilots in 1937: that classification didn’t surface until World War II, when women were enlisted to fly new aircraft from factories to army airfields” (Masters). As a Women’s Rights activist, Earhart helped pave the way for future women in aviation. Later on in her career, she would set out on her infamous adventure, a flight around the world. Her crew consisted of “her three men companions, Paul Mantz, relief pilot; Harry Manning, radio operator; and Fred Noonan,

She used her success to show others that a woman could accomplish similar things once reserved for men. She may always be most remembered by her fateful disappearance over the Pacific Ocean, however, she has ultimately been known as one of the most famous pilots of all time because of her accomplishments, what she stood for in her day and the mystery of her fateful trip and disappearance. As a women’s rights activist and an active dreamer, Amelia Earhart wasn’t afraid to reach for new heights. In Amelia’s words, “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things, knows not the livid loneliness of fear nor mountain heights, where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings”