The Case:
July 2, 1937: newspapers all over the world report the same event: Amelia Earhart's airplane disappears over the pacific. The disaster and presumed death of the beloved 39 year-old heroine gripped the public.
For decades historians have debated how and where the aviator disappeared. Both scientific and more fanciful theories abound: some surmise she landed on uninhabited Gardner Island. Others suggest she was captured and executed by the Japanese. Less scrutinized is an accident she had four months earlier, during take-off for her around-the-world flight.
Did that crash somehow contribute to Earhart's disappearance?
Over seventy years later, History Detectives investigates whether a fragment of metal is from the missing plane.
Related Content
Video:
Technique:
Technique:
Technique:
Technique:
Related Links
Explore
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Connecticut Farmhouse
Why did this Connecticut farmhouse have so many owners in such a short space of time?
-
Also in Season 7
John Adams Book
Was this book a gift from John Adams to his son?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Suffrage Pennant
What can this pennant tell us about one woman's role at a crucial point in Women's Suffrage movement?
-
Also in Depression and WWII: 1929-1945
Society Circus Program
Why are some of New York's wealthiest planning a circus at the depth of the Great Depression?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Civil War Bridge
Has a new discovery rewritten Civil War history?
-
Related Investigation
Theremin
How did this strange instrument help spark a rock n’ roll revolution?
Comments
This is a place for opinions, comments, questions and discussion; a place where viewers of History Detectives can express their points of view and connect with others who value history. We ask that posters be polite and respectful of all opinions. History Detectives reserves the right to delete comments that don’t conform to this conduct. We will not respond to every post, but will do our best to answer specific questions, or address an error.