Amelia Earhart represents Kansas in Capitol's Statuary Hall

July 27 (UPI) -- After more than two decades of planning, a bronze statue of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart joined the ranks of other important historical figures in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall on Wednesday.

The statue cast by George Linden and Mark Lundeen is one of two to represent the state of Kansas in the hall, joining fellow Kansan former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

"Amelia Earhart has landed in Washington, D.C.," Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., said during a ceremony unveiling the sculpture.

Each state is represented in Statuary Hall by two statues picked by the state, with the only condition being that the subject must be deceased, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The Kansas State Legislature voted in 1999 to replace their existing statues honor former Sen. John James Ingalls and former Gov. George W. Glick with ones of Earhart and Eisenhower.

While the Eisenhower statue was unveiled at Statuary Hall in 2003, there was a delay with the Earhart one due to funding and design issues. The statue was completed in 2019, but final approval to install it didn't come until this year.

"Kansas officially has two of the most iconic and recognizable American heroes representing any state in the United States Capitol," Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said during the unveiling.

Earhart, born in 1897 in Atchison, Kan., was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, receiving the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for the feat.

She and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937 as she attempted to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. She's presumed to have died in a crash somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, creating a mystery that attracts interest and investigations to this day.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke at Wednesday's unveiling, praising Earhart's accomplishments.

"When girls and boys come to the Capitol and see Amelia, they will visit here and set their sights higher, knowing, too, that they can reach for the sky," she said.

"And when they see this statue, when it's quiet here in the Capitol, they will hear the sound of wings."

Of the 100 historical figures represented in Statuary Hall, Earhart is the 11th woman.