Knowing of the female pilot, Amelia Earhart's tragic crash at sea, it was good to read of her special honor in 1932. The Society's Special Medal Awarded to Amelia Earhart: First Woman to Receive Geographic Distinction at Brilliant Ceremony in the National Capital, National Geographic Magazine, September, 1932, is the account of her award.
President Herbert Hoover presented Mrs. Earhart with the Historic Gold Medal for her solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The ceremony took place in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. In addition to the President and Mrs. Hoover, there were the Chief Justice, many Senators and Congressional Representatives, plus "diplomatic representatives of 22 countries, including those from European nations which had honored the flyer with her dramatic landing at Londonderry, Ireland," (p. 358).
The ceremony was broadcast over radio to the entire nation. The article's photos show "that rare quality of courage, together with skill and sureness of spirit, is reflected in Miss Earhart's flying smile," (photo caption, p. 361). She appears so young!
Mrs. Earhart addressed the audience with a report of her flight. Early into her journey, her plane's altimeter failed. "I plunged at 11:30 (p.m.) into the storm cloud and met the roughest air I have ever encountered while flying completely blind," (p. 365).
Flying at night, she would be able to land in the daytime. She made it to the coast of Ireland, more north than she had planned and couldn't find an airfield. "Consequently, I selected the best pasture I could find and settled down in it. I pulled up at the front door of a farmhouse and asked the surprised farmer for a drink of water," (p. 367).
The aviator was known for her modesty: "My flight has added nothing to aviation. . . however, I hope that the flight has meant something to women in aviation," (p. 367).
She would fly for five more years, then disappear into the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
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