After flying for 17 hours from Newfoundland, Amelia Earhart lands
near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, becoming the 1st transatlantic
solo flight by a woman.
Amelia Mary Earhart
(July 24, 1897 – disappeared July 2, 1937)
(declared dead January 5, 1939)
On May 21, 1927, 25 year old Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris’
Le Bourget Field at 10:22 p.m. local time, completing the first solo,
nonstop transatlantic flight. Aboard The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris in a span of 33 ½ hours. He was greeted
in Europe by a large crowd of up to 100,000.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh
(February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)
The wreckage of Francis Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane
(top/bottom) on May 1, 1960.
An American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was
shot down while conducting espionage over the Soviet Union.
The incident derailed an important summit meeting between
President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev that was scheduled for later that month.
After being shot down, Powers (right) appeared in the dock
of the Supreme Court of the U.S.S.R. and was tried by the
Soviet Military Board on August 19, 1960.
Francis Gary Powers holds a model of a U-2 spy plane as he testifies before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee
after his release from Soviet prison in march 1962.
Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977)
Powers was piloting a helicopter for Los Angeles TV station
KNBC Channel 4 over the San Fernando Valley on August 1,
1977, when the aircraft crashed, killing him and his cameraman
George Spears.
On March 1, 1932, in a crime that captured the attention of the
entire nation, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., the 20-month-old son of
aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the
family’s new mansion in Hopewell, New Jersey. Lindbergh,
who became an international celebrity when he flew the first
solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, and his wife
Anne discovered a ransom note demanding $50,000 in their
son’s empty room.
The Lindberghs were inundated by offers of assistance and
false clues. Even Al Capone offered his help from prison. For
three days, investigators found nothing and there was no
further word from the kidnappers. Then, a new letter showed
up, this time demanding $70,000.
Soon after an exhaustive search, the baby’s lifeless body was
discovered near the Lindbergh mansion. He had been killed
the night of the kidnapping and was found less than a mile
from home. The Lindberghs ended up donating the mansion
to charity and moved away.
The kidnapper used a ladder (above) to climb up to the open second-floor window and left muddy footprints in the room.
Charles and Anne Lindbergh.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh.
BRIAN THOMAS
Charles Augustus Lindbergh
(February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)
