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Charles Lindbergh |
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Born February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan, Charles Lindbergh grew up on a
farm near Little Falls, Minnesota the son of a lawyer/U.S. Congressman. Charles
showed exceptional mechanical ability, even as a child, and was encouraged to
attend college and make the most of his talent. After graduating high school,
Charles stayed on to work at the family farm for two years before enrolling in
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he would study Engineering. Full of
a passion for airplanes and the newly expanding field of aviation, Charles
Lindbergh left college after two years to attend the Lincoln Flight School in
Nebraska. when graduated, Lindbergh would spend the next few years performing
daredevil stunts and county fairs and carnivals.
Charles enlisted in the United States Army in 1924, to be trained as an Army
Air Service Reserve pilot. Graduating the following year, Charles Lindbergh was
named the best pilot in his class.
In 1919, Raymond Orteig, a New York City hotel owner, offered $25,000 to the
first aviator who could fly nonstop from New York to Paris. Several pilots
tried and failed. But on May 20, 1927,with The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh
took off from Roosevelt Field in New York, and became the first pilot in the
world to make a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh flew
some 3600 miles in just over 33-hours and proudly collected his $25,000 reward
in front of cheering fans in Paris. The press nicknamed Mr. Lindbergh
"Lucky Lindy" and the "Lone Eagle" and he instantly became
a hero.
With success and fans everywhere, twenty-five year old Lindbergh flew to
various Latin-American countries in 1927, at the request of the U.S. government.
While working in Mexico, Lindbergh met Anne Spencer Morrow, the daughter of the
American Ambassador. They would marry in 1929, and travel the world together,
charting new routes for various airlines that are still used by commercial
jetliners today. Ms. Lindbergh herself would go on to become a famous poet and
writer.
Much to world's surprise, twenty month old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. was
kidnapped from his home nursery in New Jersey in 1932, making headlines across
the country. Leaving only a ransom note demanding $50,000 in the window and a
homemade ladder leaning against the Lindbergh home, it seemed someone had
kidnapped the baby of the most famous man in the world and not left any
evidence behind. A ransom was paid, but the child was found dead several months
later in a wooded area a few miles from the Lindbergh Estate. Newly labeled THE
CRIME OF THE CENTURY, the press and police went mad in search of the killer,
finally arresting 35-year old Bronx carpenter named Bruno Richard Hauptmann.
Hauptmann would never admit to the crime, but due largely to circumstantial
evidence in what many prosecutors still believe is an unsolved case, Hauptmann
was convicted in 1932 and put to death in the electric chair in 1936.
Hauptmann's wife would spend the remainder of her life trying to clear her
husband's name. She never succeeded.
To escape the media attention after the trial, Charles took his family
(including a now three year old son, Jon) to live in Europe. Always the
inventor, Mr. Lindbergh proceeded to work while living in Europe, developing
the first-ever "artificial heart" in 1935. Lindbergh's device was the
first of its kind, capable of pumping substances through human tissue. Around
this same time, Congress passed the "Lindbergh Law" in the United
States, making kidnapping a federal offense if the victim were taken across
state lines or if the U.S. Postal Service were used as a relay for ransom
demands. Newly encouraged, the Lindberghs returned to the United States in
1939. Charles would join the America First Committee, a group that opposed
voluntary American entry into WWII. Lindbergh became the leading spokesperson
for the committee and was loved by some, and considered a traitor by others. In
1953, Lindbergh published his first book, "The Spirit of St. Louis,"
an account of his transatlantic flight which first made him a household name.
The book would win a Pulitzer Prize the following year.
Lindbergh and his wife continued to fly (mostly for pleasure) for many years to
come. Still followed curious reporters, the Lindberghs took a winter home in
Hawaii, which would later become their permanent residence. Charles Lindbergh
would spend the next few years speaking, inventing and writing. It was his goal
to create a balance between technological advances and environmental
preservation. After moving to Hana, Maui full-time, Charles was stricken with
cancer. Charles Lindbergh would take his final flight in 1974, as he checked
himself out of a New York Hospital and flew home to die, surrounded by friends
and family.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh died of cancer on August 26, 1974.