Charles A. Lindbergh

(From First Facts About American Heroes, published by Blackbirch Press and available online in Kids InfoBits)

Born:  February 4, 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died:  August 26, 1974 in Kipahulu, Maui, Hawaii

On a dark, rainy morning in May 1927, a silver airplane called The Spirit of St. Louis struggled down the runway of a Long Island, New York, airfield. At the controls of the plane, which was heavily loaded with extra fuel, was a young pilot named Charles Augustus Lindbergh. He hoped to win a $25,000 prize for the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris.

While millions waited to learn his fate, the plane droned over the Atlantic. Lindbergh found that his worst enemy was sleepiness. He had no radio. His only instrument was a compass. And yet 33½ hours later, he landed safely outside Paris, as a crowd of 100,000 swarmed around the plane. Overnight, Lindbergh became known as the Lone Eagle – the world's most popular hero.

Lindbergh lost some of his popularity in 1940, when he opposed America's entry into World War II. But when the United States entered the war in 1941, he served as an aviation advisor and flew 50 combat missions. Several years later, he was named a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve.

The Lindbergh Kidnapping

Lindbergh did not care for fame, and it brought him and his wife tragedy. In 1932, the Lindberghs' infant son was kidnapped and murdered. In a highly publicized trial, Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of the crime. The government then passed the "Lindbergh law," making kidnapping a federal crime.

Famous Authors

Both Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, were outstanding writers. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his autobiography, The Spirit of St. Louis.

Her most famous book, Gift From the Sea, published in 1955, is still a best seller. She was a licensed pilot and often flew with her husband. Both Lindberghs were among the first Americans to urge the nation to protect natural resources.