Amelia Earhart was an American aviator who became one of the best-known figures of interwar aviation. In 1928, she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by aeroplane as a passenger. Four years later, she became the first woman, and the second person, to fly solo and non-stop across the Atlantic. She went on to set further aviation records and used her public profile to encourage greater opportunities for women in flying and professional life.

Earhart helped establish the Ninety-Nines, an organisation for women pilots, and wrote books and articles about aviation. She later joined Purdue University as a consultant on careers for women and an adviser in aeronautics. In 1937, while attempting an around-the-world flight with navigator Fred Noonan, her Lockheed Electra disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific. No confirmed trace of Earhart, Noonan or the aircraft was found. She was legally declared dead in 1939.