Charles A. Lindbergh

When twenty-five-year-old pilot Charles A. Lindbergh achieved the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris he was completely surprised by the nearhysterical reaction he received when he finally landed in France on May 20, 1927, after more than thirty-three hours of flying. In his autobiography Lindbergh describes the last tense moments of the journey when he was still unsure whether he had even reached Paris's Le Bourget Airport.

Only the lights of small towns and country homes break the blackness of the earth. I turn back on my course, throttle down slightly, and begin a slow descent. The altimeter shows two thousand feet when I approach the lights again. Close to a large city in an unknown country, it's best not to fly too low. There may be hills with high radio towers on top of them...