Charles Lindbergh

Charles A. Lindbergh (1902-1974) was an early aviator who gained fame as the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic on May 20, 1927. His public stature following this flight was such that he became an important voice on behalf of aerospace activities until his death. He served on a variety of national and international boards and committees, including the central committee of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in the United States. He became an expatriate living in Europe, following the kidnapping and murder of his two year old son in 1932. In Europe during the rise of fascism, Lindbergh assisted American aviation authorities by providing them with information about European technological developments. After 1936 he was especially important in warning the U.S. of the rise of Nazi air power. He assisted with the war effort in the 1940s by serving as a consultant to aviation companies and the government, and after the war he lived quietly in Connecticut and then Hawaii.