Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in 1928 was the first woman to fly (as a passenger) across the Atlantic, and in 1932 the first woman (and second person, after Charles Lindbergh) to fly solo and nonstop across that ocean. She flew many record flights, published several books and accomplished much for women in aviation before attempting on June 1, 1937, an around-the-world flight from Miami, Florida in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. She and navigator Frederick J. Noonan were flying from Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island when they disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937. A exhaustive sea and air search, ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt, was unsuccessful in locating Earhart and Noonan.

NASM.2011.0006

Arranged and described by Patricia Williams, 2011. Encoded by Jessamyn Lloyd, 2022.

Miller, W. T.

bulk 1936 - 1940, 1970

John Davison, Gift, 2010, NASM.2011.0006

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in 1928 was the first woman to fly (as a passenger) across the Atlantic, and in 1932 the first woman (and second person, after Charles Lindbergh) to fly solo and nonstop across that ocean. She flew many record flights, published several books and accomplished much for women in aviation. This collection consists of a file of correspondence, telegrams, official Coast Guard dispatches from the USS Itasca, newspaper and reports relating to the planning of Amelia Earhart's 1937 flight and the naval search for her after her disappearance.

No restrictions on access.

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Telegrams

Newspapers

Reports

Collection is in original order.

This collection consists of a file of correspondence, telegrams, official Coast Guard dispatches from the USS Itasca, newspaper and reports relating to the planning of Amelia Earhart's 1937 flight and the naval search for her after her disappearance. The file contains correspondence signed by George Putnam and some of the correspondence relates to the radio frequencies that were to be used/were used by Earhart during her trip. This file evidently belonged to W. T. Miller, who was Airways Superintendent at the Bureau of Air Commerce, United States Department of Commerce. Miller was very involved in asserting sovereignty over Pacific Islands, such as Howland, during the late 1930s.

Correspondence

Telegrams

Newspapers

Reports

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Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937

Noonan, Frederick

Amelia Earhart Around-the-World Flight Correspondence File [W.T. Miller], NASM.2011.0006, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

National Air and Space Museum Archives