Johnson, Amy, 1903-1941

Amy Johnson was born in 1903 in Hull, England, where her father was a fish merchant. She entered Sheffield University where she earned a B.S. in 1926. After working as a secretary for three years, she became a member of the London Aeroplane Club, located at Stag Lane. Not only did she obtain her pilot's license in 1928, but with the teaching of Jack Humphries, became the first woman in England to earn as aircraft engineer's license.

In 1929 she decided to make a reputation for herself by attempting a long distance flight no woman had ever tried before. She chose to fly to Australia so she would not have to pilot over a large expanse of ocean. She had trouble finding financial backing, but finally persuaded Lord Wakefield to front half of the expense for her craft, a DeHavilland Gipsy Moth named "Jason"; her father paid for the other half. After 85 hours of solo flight and a previous cross country flight record of 147 miles, she left for Australia in May 1930. Her trip took 19 ½ days and she became an instant celebrity. She continued making record flights, including a failed attempt to Peking in 1931, and with Jack Humphries as a co-pilot, set a speed record from London to Tokyo in ten days.

In 1932, she married Jim Mollison, who was a leading British Flyer and had set numerous records of his own. He flew England to Capetown, South Africa in 4 days and made the first solo Europe to America crossing a month after the wedding. Ironically, Amy then beat his Capetown record in '32. They decided to attempt a long distance around the world flight, but due to fuel loss, crashed in Connecticut. They later tried to win the Australia-England Trophy Race in 1934, but had to withdraw due to mechanical difficulty. By 1938, they were divorced; Amy began to write articles about flying and gave up the pursuit of long distance flights.

With the advent of World War II, Amy joined the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). While flying from Blackpool to Oxford, Amy Johnson overshot her destination by 100 miles. She ditched in the Thames Estuary after running out of fuel, and although a Convoy Thrawler tried to rescue her, she drowned on January 5, 1941.