This high flyer was born in 1897 in Kansas in the United States. When she finished high school, Amelia was not sure what she wanted to do. So she worked as a nurse and decided she would study medicine. But that all changed when she took her first ride in a plane. As soon as the plane was just a short way off the ground, Amelia knew that she had to learn to fly.

When Amelia was back on the ground, she immediately began working hard to earn enough money to pay for flying lessons. Eventually, she bought her own plane. It was bright yellow, so she called it “The Canary.” Amelia soon had her pilot’s license and was ready to fly.

In 1928, Amelia was asked to take part in a flight across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to Wales in Great Britain. Flying with a pilot and co-pilot, Amelia was the navigator. She was the first woman to be carried by plane across the Atlantic. She returned to the United States a hero, although she did not think she deserved all the attention she received. Instead, she became determined to fly across the ocean by herself.

In 1932, Amelia took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. It was not long before she ran into bad weather and thick clouds. Her windshield and wings were often covered with ice.

Amelia was aiming for Paris, but she had to cut her flight short and land in Northern Ireland. However, she became the first woman to pilot a plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Only one man, Charles Lindbergh, had successfully flown solo across the ocean before her.

Amelia was the most famous woman in the world, but she still was not satisfied. She wanted to be the first woman to fly all around the world. So, in June 1937, she and her navigator Fred Noonan took off from Miami, Florida.

Planes could not fly as far back then, so they had to make a number of stops. First, the pair flew to Puerto Rico, then east to Africa. They flew to Pakistan, then India, and soon were in New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. On July 2, Amelia and Fred took off to fly to Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. They were never seen again. No trace has ever been found of this brave pilot or her plane, and her final flight remains a mystery.