Charles Lindbergh

Aviator

Name at birth: Charles Augustus Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh made the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He left Roosevelt Field in New York on 20 May 1927, piloting a plane named The Spirit of St. Louis. 33 1/2 hours later he landed in Paris to a hero's welcome and permanent international fame. Lindbergh's son was kidnapped in 1932 and later found dead; the case became a public sensation. A German immigrant named Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of the crime and executed, though in the years since some have claimed he was wrongly accused. During 1939 and 1940 Lindbergh was a vocal opponent of American entry into World War II. However, after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor he joined the war effort, eventually flying 50 combat missions in the Pacific. His 1953 autobiography The Spirit of St. Louis won the Pulitzer Prize. In later years Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, were well-known as advocates for environmental conservation.

Extra credit: Lindbergh was followed by Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean... DNA tests taken in 2003 confirmed that Lindbergh was almost certainly the father of three German siblings: David and Dyrk Hesshaimer and Astrid Bouteuil. The three, who requested the tests, said that Lindbergh had carried out an affair with their mother, Brigitte Hesshaimer, from 1957 until his death in 1974.

Other 20th-century aviation pioneers include Chuck Yeager, Yuri Gagarin and The Wright Brothers.