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Charles Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis

Birthday of St. Louis resident (as an adult), Charles Lindbergh who flew the Spirit of St. Louis.

Hugh Robinson in 1911

Hugh Armstrong Robinson was born on this date in Neosho.

Medal Of Honor

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented St. Louis native and aviation ace Lieutenant (junior grade) Edward Henry (“Butch”) O’Hare, United States Navy, with the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on this day in 1942. O’Hare was section leader and pilot of Fighting Squadron 3, when on February 20, 1942, he lost …

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Charles Lindbergh

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.”

Wing Walker Shutterstock 1

Shortly after aviation took off, so did a new form of entertainment. Entertainers—many of them women—ventured onto the wings of flying planes to dazzle audiences with daring acrobatic feats. Daredevils continue to keep the tradition alive today.

Compass On Map Alexander Andrews 4jdvowrvzfy Unsplash

Charles Lindbergh set a speed record on the first leg of his historic flight. After a day’s rest he flew to New York and set another record.   Lindbergh was delayed several days by bad weather, but on the morning of May 20 took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island. Shortly before nightfall, he passed …

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Tom Benoist and Tony Jannus Plane

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

Wendell Pruitt St. Louis

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.

Charles Lindbergh Air Mail Spirit of St. Louis

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

TWA

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.

Air Balloons 2

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.

Charles Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis

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, Lemp Brewery, Beer Delivery

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.