Aviation

Charles Lindbergh flew the first air mail run between St. Louis and Chicago. His employer, Robertson Aircraft Company of St. Louis would grow into American Airlines. Lindbergh crashed twice on this St. Louis to Chicago run and fellow pilots began calling him "Lucky Lindy."

Missourians Tom Benoist and Tony Jannus began the first scheduled passenger airline service in America.

Black aviator, Wendell Pruitt, was honored in his home town of St. Louis on this day. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down three German planes, destroying 70 on the ground and helping to sink a German destroyer.

Direct air mail service began between St. Louis and New York.

TWA established the first coast-to-coast all-air passenger service on this date. The planes flew from New York to Kansas City for an overnight stop and then on to Los Angeles. Total trip time was 36 hours.

Lizzie Wise drew a crowd as she ascended in her balloon from the Grand Avenue Baseball Park in St. Louis. A stiff wind grabbed the balloon and she was whisked away. She was found the next day in Illinois, hanging from a treetop, unharmed.

With engine failure in his mail plane, Lucky Lindy (Charles Lindbergh) glided in for a safe landing in a farm field.  Two weeks earlier his plane ran out of gas near Chicago and he was forced to bail out.

Tony Jannus made a historic trip on this date. He became the first person to deliver beer by airplane. He flew the bubbly cargo from St. Louis to the Mayor of New Orleans.