Amelia Earhart Read online

  Though Amelia was garnering some publicity as an accomplished aviatrix, she earned no money at it. In fact, she was comfortable in the notion that what she was doing was a sport, and the idea of making a living at it was foreign to her.

  On May 16, 1923, Amelia was granted certificate number 6017 by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. The certificate stated that she was certified as an “Aviator Pilot.” Of the thousands of such certificates that had been issued over the years, Earhart’s was one of only about twenty issued to women. Interestingly, on her application Earhart listed her birthdate as July 24, 1898, making her one year younger than she was, a deception she was to maintain for the rest of her life.

  In 1924, Amy and Edwin’s oft-contentious marriage finally ended, and they were granted a divorce. Amy decided she wanted to move from Los Angeles to Boston, where daughter Muriel was attending college. Amy told Amelia that she would pay her tuition if she would return to Columbia and pursue her college education. Amy paid off the note on Earhart’s airplane, and a short time later it was sold. With the money from the sale, Earhart purchased a Kinner automobile and drove her mother from Los Angeles to Boston. She then enrolled for the fall 1924 semester at Columbia University.

  During the spring of 1925, Amy suffered some financial setbacks as a result of the deteriorating economy. Amelia left school and traveled to Medford, Massachusetts, to find a job. Once ensconced in her new residence, she joined the Boston chapter of the National Aeronautic Association. Bert Kinner learned of Earhart’s connection with a new airport near Quincy and offered her a plane to exhibit. In between demonstrations, said Kinner, she was free to fly the craft as much as she wished.

  Samuel Chapman was apparently more enamored of Earhart than she was of him. He arrived in Massachusetts a few weeks after she did and landed a job at the Boston Edison Company. The two renewed their friendship, and a short time later Chapman proposed marriage. Not completely understanding Earhart’s streak of independence, he explained to her that he would not tolerate a wife working outside the home. She turned him down. The two remained friends and continued dating, but it never went beyond that. As time passed, Amelia moved in and out of other jobs, including teaching foreign students in a university extension program and being a social worker.

  On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh completed a nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris. Overnight he became a national hero and was celebrated throughout the world. Earhart read the newspaper accounts of the flight and the intrepid flyer with interest, excitement, and fascination.

  The following year Earhart turned thirty. She had grown into a woman of numerous competencies and accomplishments and held a passion not only for flying but also for adventure. She was confident that her flying abilities and her dreams could propel her to the heights reached by Lindbergh. The international stage was being set for her grand entrance.

  • 3 •Enter George Palmer Putnam

  In 1928, Amelia Earhart was employed as a social worker at the Denison House, a settlement residence in Boston. Denison House was a focal point for immigrants. Here, they were provided instruction in the English language, nursing, dancing, and other topics. Relief programs were established as well as activities for the children and clubs for the adults. Earhart, who served as a teacher and helped generate publicity for the organization, was paid sixty dollars per month.

  In April of that year, Earhart received a telephone call from Hilton H. Railey. Railey explained he was calling on behalf of New York publisher George Palmer Putnam and wanted to discuss the possibilities of her involvement in a flight that carried some amount of risk but offered incredible rewards. Amelia agreed to meet with Railey a few hours later to discuss his proposition.

  Railey explained to Earhart that Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s plane, a trimotor Fokker, was undergoing an intense mechanical examination and upgrade in Boston in preparation for a flight across the Atlantic. Byrd was a pioneering American aviator and noted polar explorer. The sponsors of the adventure desired to have an American woman involved in the project. During the early phases of planning for the flight, a Mrs. Frederick Guest was to be the female aviatrix. In fact, Guest, a wealthy native of London, had purchased the Fokker trimotor for the adventure. In the end, however, Guest decided it would be more appropriate for a younger woman to take her place.

  The task of identifying and locating the appropriate female pilot to be involved in this adventure fell to George Palmer Putnam of the publishing house of G. P. Putnam and Sons. The publishing company had plans to commission an author to write a book about the landmark flight. At the time, Amelia Earhart had garnered an impressive level of visibility as a result of her flying accomplishments, one of a number of women involved in flying at the time. In addition, she was attractive, well spoken, and poised. She was, in short, a publicist’s dream.

  Earhart expressed her interest, and ten days later she found herself being subjected to an interview with the flight’s sponsors at the offices of G. P. Putnam and Sons Publishing Company in New York City. Here she was introduced to George Palmer Putnam. The interview, as well as the beginning of her relationship with Putnam, was to forever change Earhart’s path as well as the image of women throughout the world. It was also a catalyst that would lead to one of the greatest mysteries in history.

  George Palmer Putnam II was born on September 7, 1887, in Rye, New York, a suburb of New York City near Long Island Sound. He was the grandson of and named after the publishing tycoon. Most people referred to George II as “G. P.”

  Knowing that his older brother, Robert, would eventually assume control of the publishing business, Putnam decided to seek his fortune and his adventure elsewhere. With little money, he traveled to Bend, Oregon, where he found some satisfaction. There, he married Dorothy Binney, a native of Connecticut, and before long a son, David, was born. Putnam prospered as a businessman and publisher and was even elected mayor of Bend. In 1914, he was named secretary to Oregon’s governor Withycombe.

  In 1916, Putnam’s father passed away. According to plans, brother Robert took over the publishing house. By this time, the United States had become heavily involved in World War I. In December 1918, Putnam enlisted in the army and was soon commissioned as an artillery officer. Not long afterward, Robert Putnam died as a result of the flu epidemic that swept the Eastern Seaboard, and G. P. returned to New York to become involved in the management of the publishing company. In large part because of his energy, enthusiasm, and keen business sense, the publishing house prospered over the next decade. During this time, Putnam honed the marketing and publicizing skills that were to serve him well for the rest of his life.

  George Palmer Putnam II was also vitally interested in the movie business. He convinced film producer Jesse Lansky to back the making of Hollywood’s first aviation movie, Wings, starring Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, and Buddy Rogers. It was also the first film to win an Academy Award. In addition, Putnam was instrumental in the publication of the book We, by Charles A. Lindbergh. It was a best seller and earned the publishing company a lot of money. With this particular success under his belt, Putnam was on the lookout for the next aviation best seller when he learned about Amelia Earhart.

  Everyone present at the interview at the publishing house came away impressed with Earhart and lost no time in discussing a potential contract. After Earhart thanked everyone and was preparing to leave the office, Putnam offered to escort her to the train station. A few days after returning to Boston, Earhart received a phone call informing her that she had been accepted as part of the crew that would conduct the flight across the Atlantic.

  It was immediately arranged for Earhart to meet the pilot, Wilmer L. Stultz, and the mechanic, Louis E. Gordon. She got along well with both men and eagerly anticipated the forthcoming adventure. She learned, however, that she was only to be a passenger and that she would not be handling any of the airplane’s controls. In the time leading up to the flight, Earhart studied books on navigation and nautical astro
nomy.

  While preparations were being made, Putnam, accompanied by his wife, Dorothy, made several trips to Boston to meet with Earhart. The couple invited her out to dinner, concerts, and social gatherings and introduced her to famous and prominent people.

  Byrd’s Fokker trimotor seaplane was named Friendship, and the crossing was tagged “The Friendship Flight.” With Stultz, Gordon, and Earhart aboard, it lifted off from Boston Harbor near dawn on Sunday morning, June 3, 1928. The first stop was at Trepassey, Newfoundland, to refuel in preparation for the oceanic crossing. On arriving, however, weather conditions took a turn for the worse, and the scheduled takeoff for Europe was delayed for thirteen days.

  While detained at Trepassey, Earhart discovered Stultz had a serious drinking problem. Already nervous and cautious because of her father’s difficulties with drink, Earhart began to have concerns about Stultz’s abilities to pilot the trimotor across the Atlantic.

  Back home, Putnam was working overtime sending out press releases to the country’s newspapers with the story of the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Photographs of the tall, slim, and attractive Earhart captivated the attention of readers, and she was being referred to by the publicity-minded Putnam as “Lady Lindy.”

  On Sunday, June 17, the weather finally broke and was deemed suitable for takeoff. The seaplane lifted off at 11:00 a.m. bound for Europe. Twenty hours and forty minutes later, the plane landed at Burry Port, Wales. The crossing set a record, and Earhart went down in the history books as the first woman to have flown across the Atlantic Ocean. Though she never once assisted in flying the aircraft and was little more than a passenger, her life had been completely altered. Most of the publicity centered on her. From this day on, Amelia Earhart would forevermore be a celebrity.

  • 4 •Celebrity

  Amelia Earhart was stunned to discover that, on her arrival in Europe, she was regarded as a celebrity. Disembarking from the Friendship with nothing but the clothes she was wearing and a small pack that contained little more than a comb and a toothbrush, she was pulled into a whirlwind of activity. Within the next few days, she would be feted, participate in a parade, meet Lady Nancy Astor and department store magnate H. Gordon Selfridge, sign a book contract, purchase an airplane, and be gifted several trunks filled with fine, expensive clothes. As a result of Putnam’s publicity campaign, Earhart had become the center of attention.

  Throughout all of the notice and recognition she was receiving, Earhart was constantly trying to point out that all of the credit for the successful flight was due to Stultz and Gordon. The press, however, was interested only in Earhart, and the articles featured extensive portraits of her, often to the complete omission of the pilot and mechanic. Earhart’s charm, good looks, and charisma steamrolled the reporters to the point of obsession.

  Ten days after landing in Wales, Earhart, Stultz, and Gordon were in Southampton, England, preparing to board the SS President Roosevelt for the return trip to New York. Stultz remained drunk throughout most of the cruise and locked himself in his cabin. Earhart attempted to talk with him, but he resisted her efforts. She decided she would never work with Bill Stultz again.

  The ship arrived at New York Harbor on July 6. Waiting there to greet the successful Atlantic trio was New York mayor Jimmy Walker in his own yacht. The Friendship crew boarded the vessel and was greeted by the mayor, George Palmer Putnam, and assorted dignitaries. Following this was a tickertape parade down Broadway and a series of receptions that lasted well into the next morning. G. P. Putnam appeared to have orchestrated most of the celebrations. In Earhart, he saw the value of her contrived and publicized accomplishment and the attendant fame, all seasoned with a charming and magnetic personality. It is clear that by this time Putnam viewed Earhart from several different perspectives, and one of them was related to the notion that she was highly marketable. Publisher and publicist Putnam had visions of even greater fame for Earhart coupled with more money and prestige.

  Putnam arranged a tour for Earhart, Stultz, and Gordon that went from New York to Boston and then on to Chicago. Earhart was prominently displayed before huge audiences, always in the forefront of the pilot and mechanic. When reporters asked questions, they addressed only Earhart. When the tour was completed, Earhart locked herself away for a time to work on the book she would title 20 Hrs. 40 Min.: Our Flight in the Friendship, the story of her trip across the Atlantic Ocean. When she finally came up for air and examined her accumulated mail, Earhart found she had received dozens of invitations for public appearances and lectures. Putnam kept her name in the newspapers, often accompanied by a photograph of her alongside some dignitary or celebrity.

  Another major recognition had been bestowed on Earhart following the transatlantic flight. She was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first woman to receive that honor. The DFC is traditionally awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the armed forces who is distinguished as a result of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. In 1929, Congress passed special legislation that allowed the award to be presented to Orville and Wilbur Wright. Since then, in addition to Amelia Earhart, other civilians who have won that award include Wiley Post, Jacqueline Cochran, Eugene Ely, and Roscoe Turner. By September, Earhart had finished her book and decided it was time to start flying again.

  The first thing Earhart did was to make a solo flight cross-country to California in her new airplane, an Avro Avian she had purchased from Lady Heath. It was the first Atlantic-to-Pacific coast flight ever by a woman. While in California, she attended the National Air Races. When she returned to New York on October 16, she went straight to work as a member of the Cosmopolitan magazine editorial staff.

  On March 29, 1929, Earhart passed the tests for a transport pilot license from the Department of Commerce. She was now certified as a transport pilot, one of only seven women to have earned the ranking.

  During the summer of 1929, Earhart was hired by Transcontinental Air Transport to use her celebrity to lobby for the notion that flying was safe for women. TAT, which would evolve into Trans World Airlines, had just opened up air service from New York to Los Angeles and was soliciting customers. On July 7, the first flight lifted off from New York. Earhart was among the passengers. The plane made a fuel stop in Phoenix, where it was greeted by Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne. The Lindberghs flew the rest of the way to Los Angeles in the company of the aviatrix.

  Earhart eventually traded in her Avro Avian for a Lockheed Vega. The single-pilot plane boasted a nine-cylinder Pratt and Whitney engine. Earhart entered her aircraft in the first all-female air race at Clover Field in Santa Monica, California. Nineteen of the most well-known women pilots in America were entered. They took off on August 18 bound for Cleveland, Ohio. Earhart came in third.

  At Cleveland, a meeting was held for the purpose of establishing an association of licensed women pilots. Invitations had been sent to 120 certified aviatrices, and ninety-nine showed up. Earhart was elected first president of the group, which named itself the Ninety-Nines.

  On November 22, 1929, Earhart was in Los Angeles with her Lockheed Vega to attempt a new women’s speed record. Her average speed was 184.17 mph. The principal purpose of the trip as designed by George Putnam, however, was to keep her face and activities in the news and in front of the public.

  Earhart went on to set three world speed records in her Lockheed Vega on June 25 and July 5, 1930. Around this time, air travel was a young yet growing enterprise, and Earhart found herself in the middle of it. She partnered with Paul Collins and Eugene Vidal to establish a new airline. Collins and Vidal had been involved with the development of Transcontinental Air Transport. Earhart was to be vice president of public relations and was primarily associated with the promotion of an hourly shuttle connecting New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. On September 1, 1930, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington Airways opened for business. In a short time, NYPWA was renamed as the more manageable Ludington Line. Ch
arles and Nicholas Ludington were the primary financial backers for the line. With her executive responsibilities with TAT, the Ludington Line, and her schedule of paid lectures and personal appearances, Earhart was traveling most of every week. She was also becoming one of the most recognizable and prominent women not only in the United States but in the world.

  • 5 •Marriage

  George Palmer Putnam II remained busy booking appearances for Earhart as well as making certain that her activities and accomplishments were being reported in the nation’s major newspapers. In 1930, Putnam’s uncle passed away, leaving his interest in G. P. Putnam’s Sons Publishing Company to his son, Palmer C. Putnam. George II had been with the company for ten years. For several weeks, Palmer and George discussed the publishing business in general and the future of the family publishing company in particular. In the end, George sold Palmer his interest in the business. Some money exchanged hands. In addition, Palmer presented George with a promissory note for $100,000. George immediately went to work for another New York publishing company—Brewer and Warren.

  While Putnam was busy promoting Earhart and spending much of his time with her in Los Angeles, his wife, Dorothy, was in Las Vegas filing for divorce. At the time, many were convinced Putnam had eyes only for Earhart and that it became quite obvious to his wife. The divorce was granted on December 19, 1929. Earhart and Putnam were married on February 7, 1931. She was thirty-three years old; he was forty-three. Many have argued that the marriage for these two intense, career-minded individuals was one of convenience and profit. Others have maintained the position that the two were, in fact, deeply in love and quite devoted to each other. Putnam was an adept manager and coordinator of publicity, both of which were vital to Earhart’s expanding career. And for Putnam, Earhart was a valuable commodity, one that had the potential for many years of cash flow from books and personal appearances. It was said that the two made an agreement that if one or the other decided that their individual careers were not progressing as a result of the marriage, they would have it dissolved. Following the wedding, both Earhart and Putnam were so busy with their careers that they had little opportunity for a honeymoon. The newlyweds settled in at Putnam’s home in Rye, New York.