She was one of the most celebrated aviators of her time, a pioneer who broke many records
and inspired millions of women. She was also one of the most mysterious disappearances
in history, a mystery that has baffled experts and enthusiasts for decades. She was Amelia
Earhart, and today we'll be discussing her inspiring yet deeply eerie story.
In this video, we will explore the life and achievements of Amelia Earhart, as well as
the theories and evidence surrounding her final flight and fate. What really happened
to Amelia Earhart on July 2, 1937, when she vanished over the Pacific Ocean while attempting
to circumnavigate the globe? Was she captured by Japanese forces? Did she crash on a remote
island? Did she survive and live under a different name? Join us as we unravel the mystery of
Amelia Earhart.
Facts Verse Presents: Scientists Finally Solve the Mystery of Amelia Earhart
Amelia's Early Life And Accomplishments
Amelia Mary Earhart was born on the 24th of July, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. Her father,
Edwin Stanton Earhart, was a lawyer who worked for the railroad while her mother, Amy Otis
Earhart, came from a wealthy family. Amelia had a younger sister named Muriel.
Growing up, Amelia and Muriel had all sorts of fun and fantastic adventures together.
They collected insects and frogs, climbed trees, and hunted rats with a rifle. They
also enjoyed reading books about heroes and explorers. Amelia was not interested in dolls
or dresses; rather, she preferred to wear pants and play sports. She also showed an
early fascination with machines and technology. In her formative years, she took an auto repair
course, learned how to use a camera, and built her own roller coaster in her backyard with
the help of her uncle.
Amelia was not a very good student at school, as she often skipped classes and got into
trouble. She did not care much for rules or conventions either, and she desperately wanted
to live her own way.
She also had a strong sense of justice and compassion. During World War I, she served
as a Red Cross nurse's aid in Toronto, Canada, where she tended to wounded soldiers. It was
there that she saw her first airplane at an air show.
After the war, Amelia returned to the United States and enrolled at Columbia University
in New York City to study medicine. However, she soon dropped out and moved to California
with her parents.
In 1920, she took her first flight lesson with female pilot Anita Snook at Kinner Field
near Long Beach. She was hooked on flying immediately, and in 1921, she bought her first
plane: a bright yellow Kinner Airster biplane that she nicknamed "The Canary".
In 1922, Amelia made headlines when she became the first woman ever to fly solo above 14,000
feet. She also broke several other records for speed, distance, altitude, and endurance.
In 1928, Amelia received an offer from publisher George P . Putnam to join pilot Wilmer Stultz
and mechanic Louis Gordon on a transatlantic flight. The flight would make her the first
woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane. Although Amelia did not pilot the plane herself,
she kept track of things like their position, weather conditions, and fuel consumption.
The flight took off from Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, on June 17 , 1928 , and landed
at Burry Port, Wales, after more than 20 hours of flying . Owing to her unprecedented accomplishment,
the flight made Amelia an international celebrity. She ended up receiving honors from President
Calvin Coolidge and King George V, and she also went on to write a best-selling book
about her experience titled "20 Hrs., 40 Min.".
Amelia married George Putnam in 1931. After tying the knot, Putnam became her manager
and promoter. He helped her secure endorsements, lectures, and published articles and he also
supported her flying career.
Amelia continued to break records and make history. In 1932 she became the first woman
- and second person after Charles Lindbergh - to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She
then became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean from Honolulu, Hawaii, to
Oakland, California
As she continued to set new records for speed and distance with each flight, Earhart became
a role model and inspiration for many women and girls who wanted to pursue their dreams.
Her Final Flight
In 1937, Amelia decided to attempt her most ambitious and dangerous flight yet: a circumnavigation
of the globe at its widest point near the equator. She planned to fly a Lockheed Electra
10E plane with navigator Fred Noonan. The flight would cover about 29,000 miles and
take about 40 days. Amelia hoped that this flight would prove that women could do anything
men could do.
The flight began on June 1, 1937, from Miami, Florida . Amelia and Fred flew eastward across
South America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They faced many challenges
along the way such as bad weather, mechanical problems, and navigational errors. Fortunately,
they also received support and encouragement from local people and officials who welcomed
them warmly.
On July 2, 1937, Amelia and Fred took off from Lae, Papua New Guinea, en route to their
next destination: Howland Island, a tiny speck of land in the central Pacific Ocean. It was
one of the most challenging legs of their journey because they had to fly over vast
stretches of open water with no landmarks or radio stations to guide them. To make matters
worse, they also had limited fuel and time.
Tragically, they never made it to Howland Island. They disappeared somewhere over the
Pacific Ocean without a trace.
No one knows for sure what happened to them or where they ended up. There are many theories
and speculations about their fate, but none have been proven conclusively.
Some believe that they ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. While others think
that they landed on an uninhabited island or reef and died there. Some have even suggested
that they were captured by Japanese forces who occupied some islands in the area at that
time. The wildest theory, however, is the claim that they survived and lived under different
identities.
For years, the mystery of what actually happened on that flight has captured the minds and
imaginations of generations. That being said, newly uncovered scientific evidence just might
shed some light on what happened on Amelia Earhart's ill-fated final flight.
Exciting New Clues Have Emerged
Scientists specializing in the forensic analysis have recently made an intriguing discovery
potentially related to Amelia Earhart's disappearance.
An aluminum panel recovered from a remote island in 1991, near the location where Earhart's
plane went missing, was found to have letters and numbers etched on it.
The markings, including "D24," "XRO," and either "335" or "385," suggest that the panel
may have been part of a repair, as it shows signs of corrosion and rivet punctures similar
to Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane, though not an exact match.
Scientists are currently investigating the origin of these markings, which could be related
to manufacturing codes. If they can confirm that the panel belongs to Earhart's plane,
it would help dispel some of the more outlandish theories surrounding her disappearance, such
as the notion that she returned back to the US to live under a false identity. It would
also confirm that Earhart indeed made it to Nikumaroro and later died there.
Earthart's Remains Were Possibly Discovered
According to a researcher from the University of Tennessee, bone measurements suggest that
remains found on that remote South Pacific island are likely those of the famous American
pilot.
Professor Richard Jantz re-examined measurements conducted in 1940 by physician D. W. Hoodless,
who had concluded that the bones discovered belonged to a man. Mysteriously, the bones
eventually disappeared, so all that Professor Jantz was able to work with was metric data
limited to four measurements of the deceased's skull and three other bones. Even though he
had limited access to available data and no physical evidence to work with, Jantz used
modern techniques, including a computer program called Fordisc, and found that Hoodless had
incorrectly determined the sex of the remains.
Jantz further compared the bone lengths with Earhart's measurements and made the determination
that the bones were likely to be hers. Interestingly, when the bones were initially discovered in
1940, the search party also found part of a shoe deemed to have belonged to a woman.
They also found a sextant box designed to house a Brandis Navy Surveying Sextant, similar
to one that Earhart's co-pilot used.
Wanting to cover all of his bases, Jantz investigated other theories about the bones. He looked
into the possibility that they could have belonged to any one of 11 men who were presumably
killed in a 1929 shipwreck near Nikumaroro's western reef, about four miles away from where
the remains were discovered. He also entertained the idea that the remains possibly belonged
to a pacific islander.
At the end of his research, however, Jantz concluded that there wasn't any documentation
on the men that went missing nor any evidence that they could have survived the shipwreck
and died as unlucky castaways. Plus, the shoe and box found were not consistent with either
of those two alternate theories in any way, shape, or form. Based on all the information
available to him, Jantz concluded that the remains found on the island were more than
likely those of Earhart.
This study, in case you wanted to read it yourself, was published in the journal Forensic
Anthropology.
Amelia Earhart was a pioneering aviator and an advocate for women's rights who made history
as the first female aviator to ever fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Her courage and
determination helped break down gender barriers and inspire generations of women to pursue
their dreams. Her disappearance during that flight over the Pacific in 1937, despite recent
revelations, remains a mystery to this day and has only added to her legend. Today, she
is remembered as an iconic figure in aviation history and as a symbol of women's empowerment.
What do you think really happened to Amelia Earhart? Do you think she died a castaway
on a remote deserted island, or do you think she ran out of fuel and died when her plane
crashed into the sea? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thanks for watching!