Anne Morrow Lindbergh
A pioneering aviator and lyrical writer who charted her own course as a navigator of both the skies and the human heart.
1906–2001 (age 95)·American aviator and author·Birthday: June 22·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Anne Morrow Lindbergh stepped into a blinding spotlight as the wife of the world's most famous pilot, but she carved out a formidable identity of her own. Shy and literary by nature, she embraced aviation with Charles, becoming his co-pilot, navigator, and radio operator on groundbreaking survey flights that mapped new global air routes. These daring journeys, chronicled in her first book, 'North to the Orient', revealed a gifted prose stylist. Her life was marked by profound tragedy with the kidnapping and death of her first child, a pain she channeled into writing. Her masterpiece, 'Gift from the Sea', a series of meditative essays on a woman's life, became a phenomenal bestseller, speaking to millions seeking simplicity and purpose. Throughout a complex marriage, she maintained her literary voice, producing volumes of diaries and letters that offer an intimate portrait of 20th-century American life from a uniquely elevated, and often solitary, vantage point.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Anne was born in 1906, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1906
Anne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1906Born
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Started school
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1919Became a teenager
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Could drive
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1924Could vote
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1927Turned 21
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1936Turned 30
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 40
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1956Turned 50
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1966Turned 60
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 70
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 80
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
2001Died at 95
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
Key Achievements
- Became the first American woman to earn a first-class glider pilot's license in 1930.
- Awarded the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal in 1934 with Charles Lindbergh for their exploration flights.
- Authored the bestselling inspirational book 'Gift from the Sea' (1955), which has sold millions of copies worldwide.
- Served as radio operator and co-pilot on pioneering international survey flights with her husband, charting routes for commercial airlines.
Did You Know?
She was an accomplished poet, and her early work was published in Scribner's Magazine while she was a student at Smith College.
She designed a unique "wave" wedding ring for herself, which later inspired a popular jewelry line.
During World War II, she was controversially involved with the America First Committee, which opposed U.S. entry into the war.
Her daughter, Reeve Lindbergh, is also a published author.
““The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient.””
