Charles Lindbergh
Aviator who made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. His most famous achievement came on May 20–21, 1927, when he flew solo from New York to Paris—a 3,600-mile, 33-hour journey—aboard the *Spirit of St. Louis*, an aircraft built specifically to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize. While not the first transatlantic flight, it was the first solo crossing and set a new distance world record, beating the previous mark by nearly 2,000 miles. The flight instantly made him a global celebrity and is considered a pivotal moment that launched a new era in air travel.
Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan, the only child of U.S. congressman Charles August Lindbergh and Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh. His parents separated when he was seven. He grew up mostly in Little Falls, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C., attending over a dozen schools, including the Force School and Sidwell Friends School in D.C., and Redondo Union High School in California, before graduating from Little Falls High School in 1918. After a brief stint studying mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he dropped out during his sophomore year. He became a U.S. Army Air Service cadet in 1924 and, the following year, worked as an air mail pilot in the St. Louis area, where he began planning his transatlantic attempt.
For his 1927 flight, President Calvin Coolidge awarded him both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Medal of Honor. He was promoted to colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve and received France’s Legion of Honor. The flight sparked a global surge in interest in flight training, commercial aviation, and air mail—a phenomenon known as the “Lindbergh Boom”—and he spent years promoting these industries. *Time* magazine named him its first Man of the Year in 1927, President Herbert Hoover appointed him to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1929, and he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1930. In 1931, he collaborated with French surgeon Alexis Carrel to invent the first perfusion pump, a device that later enabled heart surgeries and organ transplants, though their version was considered impractical and fell out of use by the 1940s.
On March 1, 1932, Lindbergh’s infant son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in what the American media called the “crime of the century.” The case
- born
- February 4, 1902, Detroit, Michigan
- died
- August 26, 1974, Maui, Hawaii
- field
- Aviation, military service, invention, writing, environmentalism
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- First solo nonstop transatlantic flight (New York to Paris, 1927)
Lore & Background
Lindbergh was raised mostly in Little Falls, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C., the son of U.S. congressman Charles August Lindbergh. He became a U.S. Army Air Service cadet in 1924 and was hired as a U.S. Air Mail pilot in the Greater St. Louis area the following year. On May 20–21, 1927, flying the Spirit of St. Louis, he completed the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles, alone for over 33 hours. The flight won the $25,000 Orteig Prize and set a new flight distance world record.
In 1931, Lindbergh and French surgeon Alexis Carrel began work on inventing the first perfusion pump, a device credited with making future heart surgeries and organ transplantation possible, though their version was considered impractical and lost influence by the 1940s. On March 1, 1932, his first-born infant child, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered, a case that prompted the U.S. to establish kidnapping as a federal crime if a kidnapper crosses state lines. Public hysteria drove the family abroad to Europe from late 1935 until 1939.
In the months before the United States entered World War II, Lindbergh's non-interventionist stance and statements about Jews and race led many to believe he was a Nazi sympathizer. He never publicly stated support for the Nazis and condemned them several times, but associated with them on numerous occasions in the 1930s. He supported the isolationist America First Committee and resigned from the U.S. Army Air Corps in April 1941 after President Franklin Roosevelt publicly rebuked him. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh avidly supported the war effort but was rejected for active duty; he flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific Theater as a civilian consultant and was unofficially credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft.
Reader's Guide
Lindbergh's 1927 flight signaled a new era of air transportation between parts of the globe and spurred significant global interest in flight training, commercial aviation, and air mail, a phenomenon dubbed the 'Lindbergh Boom.' Time magazine named him its first Man of the Year for 1927, and he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1930. His later years saw him become a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, international explorer, and environmentalist, helping to establish national parks and protect endangered species and tribal people in the Philippines and east Africa. Despite his controversial pre-war views, his aviation achievement remains one of the most consequential flights in history.
Did You Know?
- Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris was the first solo crossing of the Atlantic and set a new flight distance world record, nearly 2,000 miles longer than any previous flight.
- He and French surgeon Alexis Carrel invented the first perfusion pump, a device credited with making future heart surgeries and organ transplantation possible.
- The kidnapping of his infant son in 1932 prompted the U.S. to establish kidnapping as a federal crime if a kidnapper crosses state lines with a victim.
- In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower restored Lindbergh's commission and promoted him to brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
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