Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh was an aviation pioneer. In 1927 he became the first to fly solo, non-stop, from New York to Paris. This feat created a sensation and he was welcomed by enormous crowds in France and, on his return, in New York. He was known as "Lucky Lindy" and inspired a dance, the "Lindy Hop."

Lindbergh was bold in using a single-engine plane and in flying solo. He argued that aircraft engines were now reliable enough to be counted on, and that the loss of a single engine in a multi-engine aircraft would be so serious that having several engines increased, rather than reduced, the risk. Bolder, perhaps, was his decision to fly alone, meaning that he needed to remain awake for 33 hours.

Lindbergh's life was touched with tragedy when his twenty-month-old baby was kidnapped, and ultimately killed, by Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Lindbergh visited Germany in 1938 and was impressed by and spoke favorably of the German air force. He accepted a medal from Hermann Goering for his services to aviation. He attracted criticism and some regarded him as a Nazi sympathizer. Lindbergh strongly opposed U.S. entry into the Second World War, and suggested that if the U.S. did enter, it should be on the side of Germany.

Lindbergh worked as a civilian consultant to aviation companies, particularly Pan American Airways. He flew all over the world scouting possible routes that Pan Am could fly. In later years, he served on the Board of Directors of the Lockheed Corporation.

Lindbergh wrote two books about his flight: We and The Spirit of St. Louis.