Despite all of her accomplishments Earhart became a legend because of her final failure Her disappearance over the Pacific Ocean on July 2 1937 remains one of aviation’s greatest mysteries Today people still wonder what exactly became of the famous flyer Amelia Earhart disappeared shortly before her 40th birthday
Young Amelia Amelia Mary Earhart was born in Atchison Kansas on July 24 1897 Her father Edwin Earhart was a lawyer for the railroads Her mother Amy Otis Earhart was a housewife Amelia had one younger sister Grace Muriel born in 1899 The two would remain close throughout Amelia’s life Edwin’s job required him to be frequently on the move So until she was 11 Amelia lived with her grandparents Alfred and Amelia Otis for most of the year The Otises put a high value on education and learning Amelia loved to read and she was a good student Amelia and her sister moved to Des Moines Iowa when Amelia was in the seventh grade
Amelia was a tomboy who often came home with skinned knees and bruises from climbing up trees and onto rooftops
Amelia was also a tomboy She played basketball baseball tennis and football She swam fished and rode horses Amelia’s mother encouraged her girls to be active She even sewed bloomers for them to wear although girls of this time only wore skirts When Amelia was 10 she and her family visited the Iowa State Fair Here she saw her first airplane Amelia was not impressed She later wrote It was a thing of rusty wire and wood and looked not at all interesting Did you know Amelia her sister and two playmates built a roller coaster in her grandparents backyard The Earhart girls had seen a roller coaster at the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair but had been forbidden to ride it Moving around Amelia’s later childhood was more unsettled Although the Earhart family was together again Edwin Earhart began drinking a lot of alcohol He moved from job to job and the family struggled to pay their bills In 1915 Amy left her husband and moved with the two girls to Chicago Illinois
