BRIAN THOMAS

Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)

Charles Lindbergh was a aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and
activist. At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot
to instantaneous world fame by winning the Orteig Prize for making a
nonstop flight from New York to Paris.

Nancy Kerrigan cries in pain after the attack.

Former figure skater Nancy Kerrigan (above) was clubber on her right leg
by an assailant on this day in 1994. The attacker was hired by the ex-
husband of her rival Tonya Harding.  Four men were later sentenced to
prison for the attack, including Harding’s ex-husband.

Nancy Kerrigan turned 50 last October.

Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding) became 49 in
November.

 
    
    
Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first
successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft.

Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which
stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural
flight.

Orville Wright (left) and brother Wilbur.

The Wright Brothers’ 1903 Flyer, which is on display at the National
Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC.

CARLATA BRADLEY

    
    
    
    
    
   
Over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California, pilot Chuck Yeager flew
the Bell X-1 rocket plane and became the first person to break the
sound barrier on this day in 1947.     

Charles Elwood Yeager turned 96 in February.

SANDY KOZEL

Aviator Wiley Post ended his around-the-world flight on this day in
1933. He had traveled 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours,  and 49
minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish the feat. He began
the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin.

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935)

The “Winnie Mae” is on display at a branch of the Smithsonian’s
National Air and Space Museum.