Faces of Money: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Medal shown: Charles A. Lindbergh, bronze medal, 1927, France
 Charles Lindbergh (1902 – 1974)
Early in the morning on May 20, 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh took off in
The Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field near New York City. A crowd
of more than 100,000 people gathered at Le Bourget Field outside of
Paris, France, to greet him when he landed less than 34 hours later.
Lindbergh's flight made headlines around the world as he had become
the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. A $25,000 prize
had been offered by hotel businessman Raymond Orteig for the first to
complete the feat. Four men had already died trying, three others had
been seriously injured, and two were still missing.
Convinced the young man's endeavor would surely end in his death,
newspapers called him "the flying fool."
On his return to New York City, four million people lined the streets
and greeted the new hero in a ticker tape parade. Lindbergh was
commissioned to fly the Spirit of St. Louis throughout the United States
and, over the course of three months, he visited 92 cities in 49 states,
extolling the virtues of flight to a captivated American audience.
Lindbergh is recognized in aviation for demonstrating and charting
polar air-routes, high altitude flying techniques, and increasing
aircraft flying range by decreasing fuel consumption. These innovations
are the basis for modern intercontinental air travel.
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