When One Woman Fails, Thousands Must Challenge Themselves to Achieve

Here’s a lovely quote on which to ruminate:

“I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.” — Amelia Earhart prior to her final flight

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) was a famous American aviator and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, an achievement that earned her the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross. Earhart was also a staunch advocate for women’s rights who parlayed her aviation fame into several best-selling books. She was a faculty member at Purdue University and a member of the National Woman’s Party. Despite the many accomplishments of her lifetime, Earhart is best known for the way she died. During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937, Earhart and her navigator disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Her grim and mysterious death still resonates to this day.