Existing comment:
Introduction:
"A young Minnesotan who seemed to have nothing to do with his generation did a heroic thing, and for a moment people... thought of their old best dreams."
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald
On May of 1927, a 25-year-old St. Louis airmail pilot took off from New York alone toe cross the Atlantic Ocean nonstop in a small single-engine plane. In the days when transatlantic crossings were made by ship, only a few pilots had tried by air, but none had yet succeeded.
Arriving in Paris 33-1/2 hours later, Charles Lindbergh opened the tiny door of the custom-built Spirit of St. Louis to an enormous and exuberant crowd. During the next few hours news of his dramatic feat spread rapidly around the globe by way of telegraph, radio, film, and print.
People responded to their new hero with unprecedented fervor. They showered Lindbergh with gifts, invitations, cards, and letters. Although primarily interested in promoting aviation, Lindbergh saw every detail of his life splashed across front-page headlines. From that moment on, his joys -- including his long marriage to Anne Morrow Lindbergh -- and his tragedies unfolded under the ever-watchful eyes of the world. |