Trivia

In 1927, just prior to his historic flight, Lindbergh was nearly grounded by William P. MacCracken, Jr., a government aeronautics official. Lindbergh had been engaging in barnstorming and daredevil flights in government planes, and had actually wrecked several of them. Only after Lindbergh's supervisor promised to restrain his behavior did MacCracken relent and allow Lindbergh to make his historic flight.

His record-setting flight over the Atlantic Ocean failed to make the cover of Time Magazine in 1927. Later that year, seeking to fill in a slow news week and make up for missing the story earlier, the editors of Time created their "Man of the Year" honorific, devoting an entire issue to how influential the flight was, and making Lindy himself the first person ever to receive that title.

From the mid-1950s he was a consultant and director of Pan-American Airways.

In 1954 he was named a brigadier general in the US Air Force Reserves for his long-term service to the US government.

In 1927 he became the first pilot to fly an airplane across The Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris. The race to cross the Atlantic had been attempted by the best pilots of the time, most of whom had made names for themselves during World War I. One of them was Richard E. Byrd Jr. (who was later the first man to fly over the South Pole). With that competition, Lindbergh was seen as an outsider, and he had problems getting financial backing and a plane. He finally got money from a small company in St. Louis, MO, which named his plane "The Spirit of St. Louis" for the publicity. What separated Lindbergh from his competition was that he was the only pilot in the running who was going to fly a single-engine plane and the only pilot who was willing to fly alone. One of the chief reasons for his success was that most of his competition has either crashed or had mechanical or financial problems.

Had three children with German hat-maker Brigitte Hesshaimer: Dirk (born 1958), Astrid (born 1960), and David (born 1967). They managed to keep the affair secret until Astrid disclosed it in 2003, two years after both Ms. Hesshaimer and Mrs. Lindbergh had died. DNA tests have confirmed the truth of these assertions.

During World War II, he rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the US Army Air Corps and in 1948, when the AAC separated from the army to become the US Air Force, he went along and kept that same rank. During WWII he specifically requested Pacific theater assignments only, since he had been a strong and vocal supporter and admirer of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Prior to Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh outraged the American public by advocating America's entry into World War II on the side of Nazi Germany.

Children, with Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Charles Lindbergh Jr. (June 22, 1930 - March 2, 1932), Jon Lindbergh (b. 1932), Land (b. 1937), Anne (October 2, 1940 - December 10, 1993), Scott (b. 1942) and Reeve Lindbergh (b. 1945).

On May 4, 1928 he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal (45 Stat. 490).

When Lindbergh landed in France after his historic flight, one of the first reporters to reach him was William L. Shirer.

Inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 1965.

Induced into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1967.

In October 1938 he made one of many visits to Nazi Germany, He received the Service Cross of the German Eagle (Verdienstkreuz der Deutscher Adler). This is the second-highest award the Reich could bestow on a foreigner (only Henry Ford, another admirer of Nazi Germany, was awarded a higher-ranking medal).

Eldest son Charles Lindbergh Jr. is the famous "Lindbergh baby". He was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. German immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann was tried, convicted, and executed for the crime. This story inspired British author Agatha Christie to write a murder-mystery novel which was brought to the screen as Murder on the Orient Express (1974). Other deceased family members include wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh (d. 2001) and daughter Anne (1993).

Inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame in 1991.

During his 1938 visit to Germany, Reich Air Marshall Hermann Göring took Lindbergh and several other passengers on a flight aboard a new passenger plane. While airborne, Goering turned the controls over to Lindbergh, who was quite flattered.

In 1928 named "Time" Magazine's "Man of the Year".

A lifelong abstainer from tobacco and alcohol.

Related to Thomaz Ransmyr.

In 1976 he was pictured on a commemorative 50¢ postage label issued by the (now defunct) Independent Postal System of America.

Inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1989.

Cousin of Lois Hall.

Born at 2:30am-CST

On 5/28/98 was pictured on one of 15 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, celebrating the 1920s.

He strongly opposed the United States siding with the British Empire with Lend-Lease, and warned that the Japanese were likely to be provoked into attacking the US-occupied Philippines. Some of his public statements on Jews were considered anti-Semitic.