In 1930, Anne Morrow Lindbergh became the first woman in the United States to receive a glider pilot license. Beyond her status as an aviator who charted pioneering polar air routes between continents, she emerged as a prolific writer and diarist whose literary output eventually eclipsed the intense public scrutiny surrounding her early life.
Early Development
Born in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1906, Anne Spencer Morrow grew up in an environment that prioritized education and intellectual achievement. Her mother, Elizabeth Cutter Morrow, was a teacher and writer, while her father, Dwight Morrow, served as a United States Senator and Ambassador to Mexico. After attending the Dwight School for Girls and The Chapin School, she graduated from Smith College in 1928, where her writing earned the Elizabeth Montagu Prize and the Mary Augusta Jordan Literary Prize.
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Following her marriage to Charles Lindbergh in 1929, she entered a period of intense aerial activity. Serving as a copilot and radio operator, she navigated and communicated via Morse code during numerous exploratory flights. The couple mapped air routes across the Atlantic and Pacific, including the first flight from Africa to South America. Her contribution to aviation was formally acknowledged later in life through inductions into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1979 and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.
Tragedy and Exile
The kidnapping and subsequent murder of the Lindberghs' first-born son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., in 1932 subjected the family to overwhelming public hysteria and press attention. Seeking to escape this environment and threats against their second son, the couple moved to Europe in 1935. During their residency in the United Kingdom and France, their political views regarding the impending war in Europe drew significant scrutiny. Upon their return to the United States in 1939, they aligned with the isolationist America First Committee until the attack on Pearl Harbor shifted their stance toward support for the war effort.
Literary Legacy
In the postwar era, Lindbergh shifted focus toward poetry and nonfiction. Her 1955 publication, Gift from the Sea, became one of the most successful nonfiction books of the decade according to Publishers Weekly. Through her detailed diaries and reflective essays, she regained public standing. She remained active in literature until later years; she suffered a series of strokes throughout the 1990s and died in 2001 in Barnet at the age of 94.
Fast facts
- Born: 1906, Englewood
- Died: 2001, Barnet
- Education: Smith College
- Notable Award: National Book Award (1935)
- Glider License: 1930
- Notable Work: Gift from the Sea (1955)
- National Women's Hall of Fame: 1996
- National Aviation Hall of Fame: 1979
Questions readers ask
What was Anne Morrow Lindbergh's role in aviation?
She served as a radio operator and copilot on exploratory flights and was the first American woman to earn a first-class glider pilot's license.
What is the subject of her most famous book?
Gift from the Sea, published in 1955, is a work of nonfiction that became one of the decade's top sellers.
Achievements
- National Women's Hall of Fame — 1996
- National Aviation Hall of Fame — 1979
- Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey
- Educated at Smith College and Dwight-Englewood School
- Worked as writer, aircraft pilot and diarist
