Today in Technology History
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February 4
The most famous pioneer aviator was born one century ago.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902 in Detroit, Michigan -- just twenty-two months before the Wright Brothers' first flight. Lindbergh grew up in Minnesota, went to college in Wisconsin, and learned to fly in Nebraska and Texas. He became one of the country's first airmail pilots, flying between Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri.
The latter city was glorified in the name of Lindbergh's famous monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis. He helped design that plane specifically for the purpose of winning a $25,000 prize for flying nonstop across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris. Even before he attempted the transoceanic flight, he had set a record in his new plane -- flying it across America in record time, from California (where it was built) to New York.
Lindbergh took off from New York on May 20, 1927. He flew without a radio, parachute or copilot -- even though the contest rules would have allowed all three. After more than thirty hours, he landed in Paris, winning the prize. "Lucky Lindy," as he was called, became an instant international celebrity.
Lindbergh remained involved in aviation for several decades. He was interested in other areas of technology, too: in the 1930s, he helped a French surgeon develop a "perfusion pump" to help keep organs alive outside the body.
Lindbergh's celebrity also brought him considerable controversy. In 1932, his infant son was kidnapped and killed. In the 1940s, his reputation was tarnished by his anti-war efforts and his anti-Semitic views. He became an environmental activist in the 1960s.
Lindbergh died at his home in Hawaii in 1974.
Related links:
Click here to read about Lindbergh's plane, Spirit of St. Louis.
Click here to read about the Lindbergh controversy in the 1940s.
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