Anne Morrow Lindbergh, aviator, author, mother and wife of Charles A. Lindbergh was born on June 22, 1906. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in 1928 and married Charles A. Lindbergh on May 27, 1929.
A lot of the early years of the Lindbergh's marriage were spent flying. Anne served as her husband's co-pilot, navigator and radio operator on many history-making flights.
The National Geographic Society awarded its Hubbard Gold Medal to Mrs.Lindbergh in 1935 for her accomplishments in 40,000 miles of exploratory flying over five continents with her husband. She was also the first American woman to earn a glider pilot license.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was also a prolific author. The National Air and Space Museum Library has quite a few of her works. Her most famous work, Gift from the Sea, (BD435. L52 1977X) was originally published in 1955. This lyrical essay-style book was inspired by a visit to Captiva Island off the coast of Florida. In this introspective book Mrs. Lindbergh uses the natural imagery of the seashells found on the island's beaches to reflect on the life of the American woman in the 20th century.
The National Air and Space Museum Library also has some of her other works such as Listen! The Wind (TL540. L49 A27 1938X).
The library also has a series of diaries written by Mrs.Lindbergh:
Bring Me a Unicorn: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1922-1928 (TL540. L739A1b)
Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh , 1929-1932(TL540.L49A4 1973X)
Locked Rooms and Open Doors: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1933-1935 (PS3523. I516Z52V)
The Flower and the Nettle: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1936-1939 (PS3523. I516Z516X)
War Within, War Without: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh 1939-1944 (PS3523. I516Z528X)
Another of Mrs. Lindbergh's more famous works, North to the Orient, (TL540. L49 A3 1935X) is also in the library's collection. This memoir of the Lindbergh's 1931 trip by floatplane through the Northwest Passage, Arctic Canada and Alaska (the Great Circle Route) finally making their way to the Orient (Japan) is filled with vivid descriptions of the landscape and the many interesting people the couple met on their adventure. It's hard to believe that Anne Lindbergh was only 24 years old at the time and the mother of an infant son. This is a very rich and poetic travelogue.
She was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey. Anne Morrow Lindbergh passed away on February 7, 2001 at the age of 94.
The library also has books written by the Lindbergh's daughter Reeve about her mother and her famous father, No More Words: A Journal of My Mother, Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Under a Wing: A Memoir.
—Leah Smith
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