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
Lafayette China
Did the Marquis de Lafayette give this china set to the popular wife of the Patriot Mayor?
-
Also in Season 7
Navajo Rug
Why would a weaver depart from tradition to make this rug?
-
Also in Depression and WWII: 1929-1945
WWII Landing Craft
Did this vessel land tanks on the beaches of France during World War II?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Muhlenberg Robe
Was this robe torn off during a fiery sermon to rally congregants to the cause of the Revolutionary War?
-
Also in Depression and WWII: 1929-1945
U.S.S Indianapolis
Are these WWII souvenirs remnants from one of Japan’s famous kamikaze attacks?
-
Also in Depression and WWII: 1929-1945
Japanese House
How did a Japanese house come to be at the San Francisco World's Fair just months before WWII began?
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.