Charles Lindbergh and the Transatlantic Flight

Although Charles Lindbergh may be the most well-known aviator in history, many people would likely answer incorrectly if you asked them what made them so famous. Some claim that Lindbergh's voyage from New York to France on the Spirit of Saint. Louis in May 1927 was the first transatlantic flight.

There is little doubt that Lindbergh's trip was a turning point in aviation history—or perhaps human history, for that matter—but there are two key details that are often overlooked: it was the first solo and nonstop transatlantic flight. That meant Lindbergh made a direct flight from point A to point B without making any pauses in between, and he did it by himself. Although it is still an impressive accomplishment, it takes away from the reality that many other people flew over the Atlantic before him.

If we're seeking for the first nonstop transatlantic trip, John Alcock and Arthur Brown deserve the title because they completed it successfully in June 1919, eight years before Charles Lindbergh. The crew of the Curtiss NC-4 flying boat, under the direction of Rear Admiral Albert Cushing Read, completed the voyage in 19 days after making several landings for repairs. If we're seeking for the first transatlantic flight in history, we just need to check a few weeks earlier, to May 1919.