Amy Johnson

Amy Johnson (born July 1, 1903, Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, Eng.—disappeared Jan. 5, 1941, over the Thames estuary) was a pioneering female aviator who first achieved fame as a result of her attempt to set a record for solo flight from London to Darwin, Australia.

(Read Orville Wright’s 1929 biography of his brother, Wilbur.)

Johnson graduated from the University of Sheffield and began work as a secretary in London. While in London she became absorbed in aviation and airplanes. She gained her pilot’s license in 1928, and she was also the first British woman granted a ground engineer’s license. On May 5, 1930, she set off on her solo flight to Darwin; eventually missing the record by three days, she nevertheless achieved great popularity in the English-speaking world for her spirit and daring. She was dubbed “Queen of the Air” by the British press.

Thereafter Johnson made a number of long-distance flights—in 1931 she set a record for her flight across Siberia to Tokyo, and in 1932 she broke the record for solo flight to Cape Town, South Africa. Her later achievements were less remarkable. She joined the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1939. It was while on a flying mission for the Air Ministry that she disappeared over the Thames estuary.