Charles A. Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles (5,800 km), flying alone for 33.5 hours. Lindbergh's aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, was designed and built by the Ryan Airline Company specifically to compete for the Orteig Prize for the first flight between the two cities. Although not the first transatlantic flight, it was the first solo transatlantic flight and the longest at the time by nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km). It became known as one of the most consequential flights in history and ushered in a new era of air transportation between parts of the globe.

Lindbergh was raised mostly in Little Falls, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C., the son of prominent U.S. Congressman Charles August Lindbergh. He became a U.S. Army Air Service cadet in 1924, earning the rank of second lieutenant in 1925. Later that year, he was hired as a U.S. Air Mail pilot in the Greater St. Louis area, where he started to prepare for his historic 1927 transatlantic flight. For his flight, Lindbergh received the highest U.S. military decoration from President Calvin Coolidge, the Medal of Honor, along with the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also earned the highest French order of merit, the Legion of Honor. In July 1927, he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve. His achievement spurred significant global interest in both commercial aviation and air mail, which revolutionized the aviation industry worldwide (a phenomenon dubbed the "Lindbergh boom"), and he spent much time promoting these industries.

Lindbergh became Time's first Man of the Year, announced in early 1928, President Herbert Hoover appointed him to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1929, and in 1930 he received the Congressional Gold Medal. In 1931, he and French surgeon Alexis Carrel began work on inventing the first perfusion pump, a device credited with making future heart surgeries and organ transplantation possible.

On March 1, 1932, Lindbergh's first-born infant child, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in what the American media called the "Crime of the Century". The case prompted the United States Congress to establish kidnapping as a federal crime if a kidnapper crosses state lines with a victim. By late 1935, the press and hysteria surrounding the case had driven the Lindbergh family into exile in Europe, from where they returned in 1939.

In the months before the United States entered World War II, Lindbergh's non-interventionist stance and statements about Jews and race led some to believe he was a Nazi sympathizer, although Lindbergh never publicly stated support for the Nazis and condemned them several times in both his public speeches and personal diary. However, like many Americans before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he opposed not only the military intervention of the U.S. but also the provision of military supplies to the British. He supported the isolationist America First Committee and resigned from the U.S. Army Air Corps in April 1941 after President Franklin Roosevelt publicly rebuked him for his views. In September 1941, Lindbergh gave a significant address, titled "Speech on Neutrality", outlining his position and arguments against greater American involvement in the war.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and German declaration of war against the U.S., Lindbergh avidly supported the American war effort but was rejected for active duty, as Roosevelt refused to restore his Air Corps colonel's commission. Instead he flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific Theater as a civilian consultant and was unofficially credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower restored his commission and promoted him to brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. In his later years, he became a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, international explorer and environmentalist, helping to establish national parks in the U.S. and protect certain endangered species and tribal people in both the Philippines and east Africa. In 1974, Lindbergh died of lymphoma at age 72.

Birth and Death Data: Born February 4, 1902 (Detroit), Died August 26, 1974 (Kipahulu)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927

Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor CVE-38286 12-in. 6/11/1927 Colonel Lindbergh replies to President Coolidge Charles A. Lindbergh Special event radio broadcast : Speech speaker  
Victor CVE-38290 12-in. 6/11/1927 Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh's address before the Press Club at Washington, D. C., June 11, 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh Special event radio broadcast : Speech speaker  
Victor CVE-38291 12-in. 6/11/1927 Col. Lindbergh's souvenir record (concluded) Charles A. Lindbergh Special event radio broadcast : Speech speaker  
Victor CVE-38292 12-in. 6/11/1927 Lindbergh's banquet speech [Part 1] Charles A. Lindbergh Special event radio broadcast : Speech speaker  
Victor CVE-38293 12-in. 6/11/1927 Lindbergh's banquet speech [Part 2] Charles A. Lindbergh Special event radio broadcast : Speech speaker  
Columbia W144380 10-in. 6/11/1927 President Coolidge decorating Col. Lindbergh, and Col. Lindbergh's response Calvin Coolidge ; Charles A. Lindbergh Special event radio broadcast speaker  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Lindbergh, Charles A.," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102509.

Lindbergh, Charles A.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102509.

"Lindbergh, Charles A.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102509

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.