History of flight - Aviation Pioneers, Wright Brothers, Hot Air Balloons
By 1909 radical new monoplane designs had taken to the air, built and flown by men such as the French pioneers Robert Esnault-Pelterie and Louis Blériot, both ...
Charles Lindbergh
By 1924 the U.S. Army had completed plans to make the first aerial circumnavigation of the world, sending a quartet of single-engine Douglas “World Cruisers” westward toward Asia. These fabric-covered biplanes featured interchangeable landing gear—replacing wheels with floats for water landings. One plane crashed in Alaska, forcing the two-man crew to hike out of a snowbound wilderness. Near the end of the expedition, a second aircraft, en route to Iceland, went down between the Orkney and Faroe islands. With support from the U.S. Navy, U.S. State Department, and overseas American officials during an odyssey of 23,377 miles (37,622 km) that consumed 175 days, the remaining pair of planes arrived back in Seattle. All this happened before <anchor>Charles Lindbergh</anchor>, flying a single-engine Ryan monoplane, made his nonstop solo flight in 33 hours 30 minutes from New York to Paris in 1927. Lindbergh’s flight, in particular, demonstrated the essential reliability of improved radial engines.
Charles Lindbergh | Flight, Biography, & Accomplishments | Britannica
Charles Lindbergh \| Flight, Biography, & Accomplishments \| Britannica

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[Charles Lindbergh](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Lindbergh)

Table of Contents


- [Introduction](/biography/Charles-Lindbergh)

- [Early life and transatlantic flight](/biography/Charles-Lindbergh#ref340419)

- [Technical work and the Lindbergh baby kidnapping](/biography/Charles-Lindbergh#ref340420)

- [Germany and the America First movement](/biography/Charles-Lindbergh/Germany-and-the-America-First-movement)

- [World War II and postwar life](/biography/Charles-Lindbergh/Germany-and-the-America-First-movement#ref340422)


[References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Lindbergh/additional-info) [Quick Facts & Related Topics](/facts/Charles-Lindbergh)

[Images & Videos](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Lindbergh/images-videos)

[![Charles Lindbergh](https://cdn.britannica.com/44/2144-004-0E00C69F/Charles-A-Lindbergh-Spirit-of-St-Louis-1927.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/44/2144-004-0E00C69F/Charles-A-Lindbergh-Spirit-of-St-Louis-1927.jpg)[![Lindbergh, Charles](https://cdn.britannica.com/74/63674-004-DD21B1C7/Parts-Spirit-of-St-Louis.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/74/63674-004-DD21B1C7/Parts-Spirit-of-St-Louis.jpg)[![Lindbergh, Charles](https://cdn.britannica.com/30/103530-004-FADEBA28/Charles-Lindbergh-route-flight-21-1927.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/30/103530-004-FADEBA28/Charles-Lindbergh-route-flight-21-1927.jpg)[![Lindbergh, Charles; Spirit of St. Louis](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/196735-004-79DA0535/Charles-Lindbergh-San-Diego-Spirit-of-St-1927.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/196735-050-43739020/Charles-Lindbergh-San-Diego-Spirit-of-St-1927.jpg)[![See Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis, the first plane to fly nonstop from New York to Paris](https://cdn.britannica.com/80/23180-138-57BC03B1/passenger-plane-Spirit-of-Saint-Louis-New-21-1927.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/23180/passenger-plane-Spirit-of-Saint-Louis-New-21-1927)[![The Lindberghs](https://cdn.britannica.com/51/68651-004-6FC89AE2/Anne-Charles-Lindbergh.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/51/68651-050-B496EF9D/Anne-Charles-Lindbergh.jpg)[![Lindbergh baby kidnapping](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/136324-004-16F2B15C/Charles-Lindbergh-murder-trial-Bruno-Hauptmann-January-1935.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/136324-050-20A28B53/Charles-Lindbergh-murder-trial-Bruno-Hauptmann-January-1935.jpg)[![Lindbergh, Charles; America First Committee](https://cdn.britannica.com/89/200289-004-FDB8ACBA/Charles-Lindbergh-rally-America-First-Committee-Fort-October-3-1941.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/89/200289-050-82765E97/Charles-Lindbergh-rally-America-First-Committee-Fort-October-3-1941.jpg)[![Charles Lindbergh](https://cdn.britannica.com/57/76157-004-A12887BC/Charles-Lindbergh.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/57/76157-050-6605523A/Charles-Lindbergh.jpg)[![Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://cdn.britannica.com/11/190211-004-A926AE17/Anne-Lindbergh-Charles-navigator-radio-operator-husband-1929.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/11/190211-050-5C278D4A/Anne-Lindbergh-Charles-navigator-radio-operator-husband-1929.jpg)

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Contents


[Technology](/browse/Technology)[Engineering](/browse/Engineering)[Aerospace Engineering & Aviation](/browse/Aerospace-Engineering)

# Charles Lindbergh

American aviator



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Also known as: Charles A. Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh


Written and fact-checked by


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Last Updated:

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• [Article History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Lindbergh/additional-info#history)


Table of Contents


Quick Facts

In full: Charles Augustus Lindbergh_(Show more)_

Also called:  Charles A. Lindbergh_(Show more)_

Born: February 4, 1902, [Detroit](/place/Detroit), [Michigan](/place/Michigan), [U.S.](/place/United-States)_(Show more)_

Died: August 26, 1974, [Maui](/place/Maui-island-Hawaii), [Hawaii](/place/Hawaii-state) (aged 72)_(Show more)_

Awards And Honors: [Medal of Honor](/topic/Medal-of-Honor-United-States-military-decoration)[Pulitzer Prize](/topic/Pulitzer-Prize)_(Show more)_

Notable Family Members: spouse [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](/biography/Anne-Spencer-Morrow-Lindbergh)_(Show more)_

Role In: [Lindbergh baby kidnapping](/event/Lindbergh-baby-kidnapping)_(Show more)_

[See all related content →](/facts/Charles-Lindbergh)

**Charles Lindbergh** (born February 4, 1902, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.—died August 26, 1974, Maui, Hawaii) was an American aviator, one of the best-known figures in aeronautical history, remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York City to Paris, on May 20–21, 1927. Lindbergh’s early years were spent chiefly in Little Falls, Minnesota, and in Washington, D.C. His father, Charles August Lindbergh, represented the 6th district of Minnesota in Congress (1907–17), where he was a staunch supporter of neutrality and a vocal antiwar advocate. The younger Lindbergh’s formal education ended during his second year at the ...(100 of 1951 words)

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