Today in Technology History

An event that occurred on this date in the history of technology.

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June 17

Today, for the last time this year, our subject is a transoceanic airplane flight.

As part of our celebration of the centennial of the Wright brothers' achievement, we have written a lot in the last few weeks about transoceanic flights. We wrote about the first airplane trip across the Atlantic (in 1919), and the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic (also 1919). We wrote about Charles Lindbergh's historic flight, which was the first solo flight across the Atlantic (in 1927). And we discussed the first airplane trip across the Pacific (in 1928).

All the aviation pioneers who accomplished those first flights across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were men. But today marks the 75th anniversary of the first time a woman flew across the Atlantic. That woman was the most famous female aviator of all time: Amelia Earhart.

Earhart is probably best remembered today for her mysterious disappearance during a 1937 attempt to fly around the world. Five years before that, in 1932, she won the nickname "Lady Lindy" for becoming the first woman to match Lindbergh's feat: a solo flight across the Atlantic.

But her very first flight across the Atlantic was four years earlier still -- not as a pilot, but as a passenger. The plane took off from Newfoundland on June 17, 1928 and landed in Wales the next day. During the flight of 20 hours and 40 minutes, Earhart helped to navigate, getting good practice for her later exploits in the air.

 

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