Amelia Earhart was a famous pilot. Many know her as the woman who disappeared while attempting to fly around the world in 1937. But before she vanished, the famous flyer made history. In 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She also completed the first successful solo flight from Hawaii to California. Earhart kept soaring through the skies. And now, a statue in her honor has landed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.!
Officials Earhart’s bronze sculpture on Wednesday. It stands 7 feet (2.1) tall in the National Statuary Hall Collection. That group features two statues from each state. Earhart was born in Kansas in 1897. Her figure represents that state. It is the collection’s 11th statue featuring a woman.
Sharice Davids is a U.S. Representative for Kansas. She spoke at the on Wednesday. “I am really excited,” Davids shared. “So many people are going to be inspired by Amelia Earhart,” the official added. “She is a true Kansas hero, an icon.”
Earhart earned her way into the collection. As a kid, young Amelia kept newspaper clippings about successful women. And as she grew up, Earhart fought for women’s . She supported the Equal Rights Amendment. That proposed law aimed to grant all American people equal rights regardless of their gender.
The pilot paved the way for other women in as well. Earhart took her first flying lesson in 1921. She saved up money and bought her first plane that same year. The craft was yellow. Earhart broke her first flying record for women in that plane. She flew it to an altitude of 14,000 feet (4,267 m)!
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke about Earhart on Wednesday as well. “When girls and boys see Amelia, they will set their sights higher, knowing too that they can reach for the sky,” Pelosi said. “And when they see this statue, they will hear the sound of wings.”
Updated July 29, 2022, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Alexa Tirapelli
