Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974)

He was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a Swedish-born U.S. Senator. An aviation enthusiast, in 1927 he became an aviation legend when he became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean nonstop from New York to Paris for 33.5-hours in his custom-built monoplane Spirit of St. Louis. This achievement made him an international celebrity and advanced public interest in aviation. After 1927, he continued promoting aviation through demonstration flights, consulting work, and technical innovations. He helped establish commercial airline routes and advised on aircraft design improvements. However, his career became controversial when he expressed isolationist views before World War II, advocated eugenics, and made statements that were perceived as sympathetic to Nazi Germany. Despite serving as a civilian consultant during the war, his pre-war positions damaged his public reputation. He later worked on environmental conservation efforts and continued his involvement in aviation technology development until his death. In 1929, he married Anne, daughter of U.S. Senator Dwight Morrow, and they had six children (listed). Their eldest son was kidnapped but despite paying the ransom of $70,000, the kidnappers murdered him anyway. He was just two years old. Lindbergh had seven other children with three different partners.