The Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History is a competitive 12-month fellowship  to senior scholars with distinguished records of publication who are at work on, or anticipate being at work on, books in aerospace history. Support is available for living expenses in the Washington, D.C, area up to a maximum of $100,000 a year. Tenure is typically for an academic year (September through August). NOTE: The Lindbergh Chair selection process runs one cycle earlier than for the other fellowships because senior scholars often need more time to arrange sabbaticals or leave.  Applications are due December 15  for a term that begins nearly two years later.

For more information, please contact NASM-Fellowships@si.edu.

Charles A. Lindbergh

Charles A. Lindbergh (1902-1974) was one of the most significant figures in the history of aviation. On May 20-21, 1927, he made a historic nonstop solo flight in the Ryan NY-P Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris that changed the face of aviation for all time. As a result, he was given international honors and acclaimed a hero.

His 1927 air tour of the United States in the Spirit, sponsored by the Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, and his Latin American air tour in 1927-1928 were significant steps in establishing a transcontinental airlines system in the United States and in linking the northern and southern continents of the Western Hemisphere with airline service. He was a consultant for Pan American Airways and Transcontinental Air Transport and helped establish each company's airline routes. In 1931 and 1933, he and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, made two historic long-distance flights in the Lockheed Sirius Tingmissartoq to survey possible overseas airline routes in the pioneer days of international air travel.

His reputation was somewhat darkened by his acceptance of honors from the Nazi government in 1938, and by his noninterventionist activities for America First in 1941. Nevertheless, when war came he worked for United Aircraft to develop aircraft engines in the Pacific theater and flew combat missions as a civilian consultant.

After the war, Lindbergh became interested in global environmental problems, and he traveled extensively to promote these causes. He received the Langley Medal, the highest honor given by the Smithsonian Institution in 1927, and two of his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis and the Tingmissartoq, are on display at the Museum in Washington, DC.

How to Apply