Lindbergh, Charles (1902-1974)
Charles Lindbergh's 1927 nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, the first of its kind, instantly transformed the twenty-five-year-old aviator into an international celebrity. The "Lone Eagle," a shy and uncomfortable youth, found himself at the center of history's first "media blitz" as journalists from across the globe tried to profit from the public's insatiable demand for Lindbergh news and gossip. Although Lindbergh's popularity peaked in the fad frenzy of the 1920s, he continued to be the subject of tabloid headlines throughout his life. He gained public sympathy after the kidnapping and murder of his son in 1932, then fell victim to widespread condemnation forhis German sympathies in the wake of World War II and finally rehabilitated himself as an early voice in the environmental conservation movement. Lindbergh's diverse accomplishments ranged from the invention of a prototypic artificial heart to the publication of a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir. Yet while "Lucky Lindy" contributed immensely to the field of aeronautics, his lasting significance is as one of the first—if not the first—popular celebrities whose private life in all its details became a matter of public interest and record.
The future aviation pioneer was born into a wealthy Minnesota family on February 4, 1902.
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