What happened this week in 1935?
Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
On January 11, 1935, American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart became the first person ever to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California. Many pilots had lost their lives attempting this crossing, and no one had successfully flown it solo in a single engine plane. Earhart took off from Oahu’s Wheeler Field with only 100 people watching. Her plane, however, was equipped with a two-way radio, a first for a civilian flight, and every half hour she called in reports. Excitement grew as Earhart approached the California coast. By the time she landed at Oakland Airport, a crowd of 5,000 was on hand to give her a tumultuous welcome. | |
Earhart’s flight from Hawaii raised the profile of the island, and the pilot herself attained an almost mythological status. Earhart previously had been the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and she had set a record for crossing in the shortest time. In 1937, while attempting to complete a flight around the world, her plane was lost in the Pacific, and Earhart became perhaps the most famous missing person of all time.