"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace," she wrote. She had it in spades. When Amelia Earhart died at the age of thirty-nine, she had packed in more experience than many who live twice as long. And hers was a life that exacted a great deal of courage. In 1922, at the age of twenty-four, she got her pilot's license and took to the air.

Solo Flights Across Atlantic and Pacific

In 1932, Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. This achievement was recognized by the US government, and in July of the same year, the Vice-President awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross. Other records she set included the women's speed and altitude records (181 mph and 14,000 feet.). She was also the first to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City, and from there to Newark, New Jersey.

After conquering the Atlantic and completing a solo journey around the US, Earhart took on the Pacific. She was the first flier to undertake a solo flght from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California. When she and her navigator disappeared near Howland Island in 1937, they were attempting a round-the-world air journey. They traveled about 22,000 miles before they vanished, according to the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas.