CHARLES LINDBERGH

ELLIE GARDNER 11TH

Charles Augutstus Lindbergh, born on February 4, 1902, not only impressed the public

with his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, but also with the door he created to the world of

aviation and air travel. His growing interest for aviation in his childhood led to his enrollment in

flying schools, where he learned how to fly and navigate. Later on, he became the first person to

fly from New York City to Paris without stopping, making him a famous American hero and an

example for many other young adventurers. Unfortunately, his growing fame also led to the loss

of his privacy and his son, causing Linbergh to see in full the negative side of fame and seek

refuge. Nevertheless, his accomplishments as a pilot had a major impact on the 1920s by paving

the way for future pilots and airlines to develop and revolutionize travel.1

He spent the majority of his childhood in Washington D.C., where his father, an antiwar

advocate and a strong supporter of equality, worked as a Congress representative. Charles

Lindbergh went to the University of Wisconsin, and as a result of his growing interest in

aviation, he enrolled in flying schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. He then bought a WW1-era Curtiss

JN-4 airplane (which he called “Jenny”), and began to earn money doing stunt tours across

Southern and Midwestern states. Later on, in 1926, he became an airmail pilot, flying from St.

Louis to Chicago consistently.

One year later, in 1917, Lindbergh began to prepare for the flight that would change

United States history and make him one of the most known and admired figures of the 1920s.

With financial support from a group of St. Louis businessmen, he had a single-engine monoplane

1
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Lindbergh
built in San Diego with his specifications. This plane, which he called the “Spirit of St. Louis,”

was built with extra fuel tanks in order to complete the long journey from New York to Paris,

which required Lindbergh to use a periscope to see (since the tanks blocked the front view of the

plane). On May 10, he flew the Spirit of St. Louis from San Diego to New York in preparation

for the transatlantic flight ahead. Around this time, Charles Nungesser and navigator Francois

Coli had disappeared after attempting to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize by flying nonstop from

New York to Paris, proving how dangerous and difficult Lindbergh’s journey would be.

Lindbergh was delayed for several days by bad weather, but at 7:52am on the morning of

May 20, 1927, he took off from the Roosevelt field on Long Island and headed east. He flew

over 3,600 miles across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping, and landed at the Le Bourget field

near Paris at 10:24pm the next evening. There, he was greeted and welcomed as a victor and

hero for being the first person to fly nonstop from New York to Paris, and for winning the

$25,000 Orteig Prize. Additionally, the United States President Calvin Coolidge presented

Lindbergh with the Distinguished Flying Cross, and made him a colonel in the Air Corps

Reserve. After that, Lindbergh also completed a series of goodwill flights across Europe and

America, and served as a technical advisor for the Transcontinental Air Transport and the Pan

American World Airways. Lindbergh responded to his fame with modesty, which reassured

Americans that the nation’s values remained strong despite the wild youth, unrestrained

consumerism, worship of celebrities, and political corruption that characterized many aspects of

the 1920s.

As a result of his growing popularity, Charles Lindbergh was privileged to promote the

development of aviation and lead the United States into new possibilities of air travel. Before

Lindbergh’s successful flight, most Americans viewed air travel as too dangerous, and instead
preferred to travel only by car, train, or boat. However, Lindbergh’s journey encouraged many

people to fly, and in 1929, more than 170,000 people paid to fly through United States airlines

(which was three times the amount that had flown the previous year). Additionally, aviation

stocks began to rise drastically, and more and more airlines began to develop as a result of

financial investors. By the end of the 1920s, there were over forty-four airlines flying across the

United States. For these reasons, Lindbergh had an enormous impact on the culture of the Jazz

Age by providing people with an entirely new way to travel and see new places.2

A few years later while visiting Mexico, Lindbergh met Anne Morrow, the daughter of

the U.S. ambassador of Mexico, Dwight Morrow, and married her in May of 1929. Anne served

as a co-pilot and navigator for Lindbergh on many of his flights across the continent. Over the

next few years, they had eleven children. Sadly, in May of 1932, their two-year-old son Charles

Augustus Jr. was kidnapped from their hope near Hopewell, New Jersey, and was later found

murdered. Because Lindbergh was already a very known figure in society, this crime only

escalated his fame, making it the most famous crime of the 1930s. Following the murder, the

sensation of trial and the credible threats made against Lindbergh and the rest of his family

caused them to take refuge in Europe in December of 1935.3

Though Lindbergh initially responded to his fame with modesty and hope for new

possibilities of aviation, the murder of his son caused him to take refuge and view his fame in a

negative light. Not only did fame cause Lindbergh to lose his own privacy, but it had also put his

family and the ones he loved in danger. However, despite his negative view of fame near the end

of his life, Lindbergh’s success made a long-lasting, beneficial impact on the history of aviation

in the United States, creating the fast and easy method of air travel we know today.

2
https://www.ncpedia.org/aviation/Lindbergh
3
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/charles-a-lindbergh
 RESOURCES

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Lindbergh

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/charles-a-lindbergh

https://www.biography.com/historical-figure/charles-lindbergh

https://www.mnhs.org/lindbergh/learn/timeline

http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/

https://www.ncpedia.org/aviation/Lindbergh