Charles Lindbergh made history when he flew non-stop solo across the Atlantic on May 20-21, 1927 in The Spirit of St. Louis. It had never been done before.
Lindbergh, just 25 years old, became an international celebrity. His flight, and his work afterwards, would shape the fate of aviation.
Long before Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic, he was already a superb pilot.
Charles Lindbergh first became interested in flight after World War I and became a barnstorming pilot in the Midwest.
In 1924, at 22, he enlisted in the Army Air Service and became a reserve officer in the Missouri National Guard.
The next year he was hired as chief pilot for the Robertson Aircraft Corporation, which flew the air mail between St. Louis and Chicago.
May 20-21, 1927
Lindbergh, at age 25, made history when he flew the Spirit of St. Louis from Long Island, New York, to Paris—3,610 miles, alone. Not only did he stay awake for 33 hours to keep flying, Lindbergh also endured extreme cold and isolation.
A crowd of 150,000 greeted Lindbergh when he landed at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. Car headlights on the road to the airport helped him find the landing strip.
In 1919, hotelier Raymond Orteig had offered $25,000 to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris. Eight years later, Lindbergh won that prize—and many more. Lindbergh received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Legion of Honor.
He became an international celebrity. The United States honored Lindbergh with awards and celebrations. New York City threw a ticker-tape parade in his honor in June 1927.
When Lindbergh made history crossing the Atlantic, he did it in The Spirit of St. Louis, a modified Ryan M-2 monoplane.
Now in the Museum’s collection, the Spirit of St. Louis reveals modifications that were made to help Lindbergh make history, what it took to fly across the Ocean, and what came next.
Lindbergh became the face of aviation. His 1927 flight touched off the “Lindbergh boom” in aviation—aircraft industry stocks rose in value, and interest in flying skyrocketed.
Lindbergh used his fame to promote excitement about air travel. Lindbergh knew he could draw crowds and build interest in flying by appearing with the Spirit of St. Louis.
On July 20, 1927, he set out on a 95-day tour. He would stop in 82 cities in all 48 states (Alaska and Hawaii were not states yet).
About 30 million people came out to cheer the famous pilot and his plane. At each stop, Lindbergh gave a short speech about aviation’s potential as a commercial enterprise.
After Lindbergh’s Goodwill Tour, the United States asked him to tour Latin America to help improve relations with Mexico.
Lindbergh and the Spirit visited 15 countries on this tour. He flew 9,500 miles—and met his future wife.
People around the world celebrated Lindbergh’s accomplishments. They wanted tokens of the man and airplane that made history. Manufacturers seized the moment.
These items are just a few of the mementos that were sold.
Children imagined they were Lindbergh, and toymakers helped them play.
Partners in Marriage and Flight
Charles Lindbergh met Anne Morrow during his tour in Latin America. The couple married in 1929.
When she first met Charles—a client of her financial advisor father fresh from his history-making flight—she was a 21-year-old college senior. “What could I say to this boy?” she wrote in her diary.
After meeting Charles, Anne learned to fly. Her first solo flight was the same year as their marriage, 1929. That year she also become the first woman in the United States to earn a glider pilot’s license. She earned her private pilot’s license in 1931.
Anne also learned Morse code and earned a radio operator's license. She would serve as radio operator on many of the couple’s flights, as well as navigator and copilot.
In addition, she published books about her travels as well as fiction.
Following their marriage, Charles and Anne Lindbergh used a camera on a transcontinental flight to make the first aerial map of Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly and New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon and Pecos area. They soon became aerial archeologists.
Perhaps the most famous flight the Lindberghs made together was the 1931 Great Circle survey through Northern Canada, Alaska, and the Asia.
Among other honors, Anne became the first woman to early the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Gold Medal, the organization’s highest award for feats in exploration.
"The Lindbergh Baby”
Charles Lindbergh’s fame came at a cost. The Lindberghs' 20-month old son, Charles Jr. was kidnapped from his nursery in the Lindbergh family home in March 1932. In May, a truck driver found toddler’s corpse.
The news of the child’s kidnapping stunned the nation, creating a media frenzy. More lurid press coverage followed the arrest, trial, and execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann in 1936 for the crime.
Fifty years after his death, and nearly 100 since he was thrust into the global spotlight, Charles Lindbergh’s legacy remains complicated. His impact on aviation cannot be overstated, but we must also acknowledge his social and political beliefs and the way they shaped his life.
Despite accusations to the contrary, Lindbergh was not a Nazi. He condemned the horrors of Nazism in the strongest terms and adamantly supported the Nurenburg war trials. However, Lindbergh was antisemitic and had an interest in eugenics.
Even before World War II, Lindbergh's beliefs were complicated. He had a complicated relationship with pre-World War II Germany. He was a spokesperson for the isolationist American First committee, often affiliated with the anti-Semitic beliefs its members.
STEM in 30 is an Emmy-nominated program for middle school students produced by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. These 30 minute episodes are great for classroom use.
In this episode, explore the Lindberghs' aviation-related accomplishments.