Amelia Mary Earhart (pronounced /ˈɛərhɑrt/ AIR-hart); (July 24, 1897 – missing July 2, 1937) was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. Earhart joined the faculty of the world famous Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation.

During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue funded Lockheed L-10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.

Amelia Mary Earhart, daughter of Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (March 28, 1867 – 1930) and Amelia "Amy" Otis Earhart (1869–1962), was born in Atchison, Kansas, in the home of her maternal grandfather, Alfred Gideon Otis (1827–1912), a former federal judge, president of the Atchison Savings Bank and a leading citizen in Atchison. Alfred Otis had not initially favored the marriage and was not satisfied with Edwin's progress as a lawyer.