54 Time March 16–23, 2020
Amelia Earhart
1935 | INTREPID AVIATOR
In the days before Amelia Earhart settled into her cockpit on Jan. 11, 1935, ready to fly 2,400 miles
across the Pacific from Hawaii to California, an open letter urged her to stand down, noting that
10 others had died trying. She pressed on, becoming the first person—woman or man—to perform
the feat. Her grit and derring-do, on full display two years before her notorious disappearance, forever
expanded expectations for just how far the fairer sex could go. ÑKaty Steinmetz‘I WANT TO DOIT BECAUSE IWANT TO DO IT.WOMEN MUSTTRY TO DOTHINGS AS MENHAVE TRIED.’1930sEVERETT