Uprooted: Amelia Earhart

Up in the Air

Seventy years ago, an unsolved mystery took flight: Attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world, Amelia Earhart (along with navigator Fred J. Noonan) disappeared in the Pacific — her twin-engine Lockheed Electra never to be found. Before that fateful flight, Earhart had soared into history as a pioneering female pilot. She fell in love with flying when she took her first plane ride in 1920, and went on to break numerous flying records. Born July 24, 1897, Earhart was also an outspoken feminist. She believed “women can do most things that a man can do,” and her airborne achievements proved the sky wasn’t the limit for ladies’ ambitions. Theories still abound as to what became of the renowned aviatrix — but Earhart’s ancestry isn’t a mystery. Celebrate National Aviation Month by learning the plane truth about her pedigree.

1 In 1930, Earhart lived in New York City and worked as

a. a sky cap at JFK Airport
b. the first woman air traffic controller
c. a flyer
d. a stewardess for American Airlines

2 Earhart was named after her

a. mother’s pet cockatiel
b. paternal grandmother
c. father’s sister
d. mother and maternal grandmother

3 Which two generations of the Earhart family were born in Atchison, Kan.?

a. Amelia’s parents and paternal grandparents
b. Amelia’s parents and maternal grandparents
c. Amelia and her parents

4 Earhart’s father, Edwin Stanton Earhart,

a. flew crop dusters in Kansas
b. was the company attorney for a railroad
c. was an aerobatic stunt pilot
d. had a fear of flying

5 Earhart was the first woman to address the graduating class at

a. the US Naval Academy
b. Harvard University
c. the Air Force Academy
d. Acme School of Women Pilots

6 Earhart’s last known words were

a. “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
b. “Uh-oh…”
c. “Houston, we have a problem.”
d. “We are running north and south.”

a. an Irish immigrant
b. a Polish immigrant
c. a German immigrant

8 What happened to correspondence photographs, and other memorabilia kept by Earhart’s mother?

a. They were destroyed in a house fire.
b. They’re in a repository in Boston.
c. They were lost when Earhart’s plane went down in the Pacific.

a. a prominent New York publisher
b. the New York School of Aviation
c. United Airlines
d. The New York Times

10 Earhart wrote

a. Fear of Flying
b. The Savvy Woman’s Guide to a Career in Aviation
c. Earhart’s Top 10 Island Getaways
d. 20 Hours, 40 Minutes: Our Flight in the Friendship
e. Come Fly with Me

Answers:

Scoring

Number of correct answers:

8-10 Celebrity Savvy

6-7 Notably Knowledgeable

4-5 Star Crossed