Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart began flying at the age of 23. She obtained her license with money she saved from her salary as a nurse. In April 1928, she joined a transatlantic flight as the first woman passenger and became a national heroine. She later flew across the Atlantic and the Pacific making her the first woman to do so. Amelia participated in the first Women's Air Derby and was a founder of the Ninety-Nines. She also helped start the airline that later became TWA. In addition, she was the aviation editor at Cosmopolitan magazine. Her biggest challenge was an around-the-world flight at the Equator, a flight which had never been attempted. Unfortunately, the plane with Amelia and her navigator vanished near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean in 1937.