Amelia Earheart Declared Dead on 5 January 1939

Amelia Earheart, is one of history’s most prominent figures in aviation, having inspired numerous movies, books, and plays. Born in 1897 in Kansas, Earhart rose to fame because of her trailblazing accomplishments as a female aviator. At the time, being both a woman and a pilot meant being met with many obstacles, and even her own family discouraged her from learning how to fly. However, despite those challenges, she set many records in aviation and became the first female pilot to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean.

For her accomplishments alone, Earhart earned herself a degree of legendary status. However, it is her unfortunate disappearance after she set off on her ambitious global flight of 1937 that has captivated people to this day. On June 1, 1937, Earhart and Fred Noonan, her navigator, set out from Oakland, California, on their eastbound transcontinental flight on a twin-engine Lockheed Electra plane. Less than a month later they reached Lae, New Guinea, having flown 22,000 miles and with 7,000 more to go before they reached Oakland once again. After departing from Lae, they had to fly another 2,500 miles before they reached their next stop—Howland Island, an incredibly small island in the Pacific Ocean—to refuel. Unfortunately, overcast skies, radio transmission issues, and low fuel meant that Earhart and Noonan did not reach their destination. Despite extreme efforts to locate the plane, which ended up constituting the most expensive air and sea search in American history up to that point, there was no sign of Earhart or Noonan anywhere. Earhart was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939.