On May 20, 1932, 34-year-old Earhart set off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, on the first solo transatlantic flight ever attempted by a woman. Armed with a copy of the Telegraph-Journal, given to her by journalist Stuart Trueman to confirm the date of the flight, she intended to fly to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5B to emulate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight five years earlier. After a flight lasting 14 hours, 56 minutes, during which she contended with strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems, Earhart landed in a pasture near Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. The landing was witnessed by two local men, Cecil King and T. Sawyer. When a farm hand asked, "Have you flown far?" Earhart replied, "From America."
As the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, Earhart received the Distinguished Flying Cross from Congress, the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French Government, and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Herbert Hoover. As her fame grew, Earhart developed friendships with many people in high office, most notably First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who shared many of Earhart's interests, especially women's causes.
On Wednesday afternoon's Classical Music With Foley Schuler, we will commemorate 94th anniversary of Earhart's history-making solo flight with new music from Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty—his Violin Concerto "Blue Electra," written for violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and deeply inspired by the sensational life, pioneering aviation career, and mysterious 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
