Charles Lindbergh

Born: 4 February 1902 Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan Death: 26 August 1974 (cancer) Best Known As: The first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Name at birth: Charles Augustus Lindbergh In 1927 Charles Lindbergh made the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He left Roosevelt Field in New York on 20 May 1927, piloting a plane named The Spirit of St. Louis. 33 1/2 hours later he landed in Paris to a hero's welcome and permanent international fame. In 1932 Lindbergh's son was kidnapped and later found dead; the case became a public sensation. A German immigrant named Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of the crime and executed, though in the years since some have claimed he was wrongly accused. During 1939 and 1940 Lindbergh was a vocal opponent of American entry into World War II. However, after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor he joined the war effort, eventually flying 50 combat missions in the Pacific. His 1953 autobiography The Spirit of St. Louis won the Pulitzer Prize. In later years Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, were well-known as advocates for environmental conservation. Lindbergh was followed by Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean... In 2003, three German siblings claimed that DNA tests proved they were Lindbergh's children. David and Dyrk Hesshaimer and Astrid Bouteuil said that Lindbergh had carried out an affair with their mother, Brigitte Hesshaimer, from 1957 until his death in 1974.