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Amelia Earhart  was born in Atchison, Kansas. She went to school at Columbia University and Harvard Summer School. In 1928 she was invited by Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon to accompany them on a transatlantic flight, which made her the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air. And, in 1932, she became the first female to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone, which she did in record time :13 hours and 30 minutes. She was awarded honors from the French and American governments for doing this. She was also the first female to fly from Hawaii to California, across the Atlantic Ocean, in 1935. In the same year she also set a speed record for flying from Mexico City to New York City in 14 hours and 19 minutes! 
 Amelia Earhart had intended to fly around the world east to west, starting in Oakland, CA. However, she decided to try another plan when her plane crashed in Hawaii. The company who made the plane, Pratt & Whitney, shipped it back to California to be repaired. Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, started their journey again, this time going from west to east. They crossed Tucson, New Orleans, San Juan, Caripito, Paramarito, Fortaleza, Natal, St. Louis, Dakar, Gio, Fort Lamey, Al Fastir, Kartown, Mosstown, Assab, Garadar, Kacachi, Calcutta, Akyab, Ragoon, Bangcock, Singapore, Banoking, Surabaya, Kupang, Darwin, and Lae. On July 2, on the leg from Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island, Earhart and Noonan disappeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This area has been thoroughly searched by U.S. Navy ships and planes many times, but no sign of the two flyers has ever been found.

Other Famous Women Aviators