Charles Lindbergh: A Short Biography: Famed Aviator and Environmentalist
By: Doug West
Charles Lindbergh came from obscurity at only twenty-fiver years of age to become one of the most recognized men of the first half of the twentieth century. This famed aviator became a controversial figure during World War II and late in life focused his energy on conservation of the planet.
The twenty-five-year old Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, and took off for Paris determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris.
- For the next thirty-three hours, he navigated through storms across the perilous Atlantic Ocean, news of his attempt had circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Paris.
- He became a national hero, with a ticker-tape parade that drew millions, awarded every possible award from the Medal of Honor to Time’s “Man of the Year”, commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp within months, and celebrated as the embodiment of a modern American.
Follow the story of this bold young man as he journeys into manhood and the controversies that would cloud he sterling “hero” image.