Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902 - 1974)

Born 4 Feb 1902 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Anne (Morrow) Lindbergh — married 27 May 1929 in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, USA

Descendants

Died 26 Aug 1974 in Kipahulu, Hāna district of Maui, Hawaii, USA

Profile manager: Notables Project WikiTree [send private message]

Categories: Notables | Aviation Heroes, United States of America | American Heroes | Langley Gold Medal.

Charles Lindbergh is notable. Join: Notables Project Discuss: notables

Biography

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 4, 1902. He was the third child of Swedish immigrant Charles August Lindbergh (birth name Carl Månsson) (1859–1924), and only child of his second wife, Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh (1876–1954), of Detroit. His parents divorced when he was just seven years old. Lindbergh's father, a U.S. Congressman (R-Minnesota (6th)) from 1907 to 1917, was one of just 50 House members to vote against (373–50) the entry of the U.S. into World War I. In his early years Lindbergh spent time on the family's farm on the banks of the Mississippi River near Little Falls, Minnesota. From the first time he heard an airplane in the air, he was hooked on aviation.

After completing high school, Lindbergh enrolled at the University of Wisconsin. Not long after however, he decided to follow his passion and entered a flying school in 1922. In 1924, Lindbergh entered a U.S. Army flying school at San Antonio, Texas.

On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh completed a solo non-stop flight from New York to Paris (a distance of 3,610 miles), in a single-seat, single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis. The flight lasted 33 hours and 30 minutes.

Lindbergh was instantly famous, and wealthy. The flight was celebrated in New York City with the largest ticker tape parade ever. Sponsored by a NY hotel owner, the historic flight paid a purse of $25,000. True to his obsession with flight, he used his new fame and fortune to advocate advancement of commercial aviation.

On May 27, 1929, Charles married Anne Morrow Lindbergh and together they had six children. Lindbergh taught his wife how to fly and theirs seemed to be a marriage of many blessings.

Tragedy and horror struck the couple however, in March 1932 when they’re 20-month old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was abducted and later found murdered.

Bruno Richard Hauptmann, a 34-year old German emigrant carpenter, was arrested near his home in the Bronx, NY, on September 19, 1934. Found at his residence was $13,760 of traceable ransom money. Charged with kidnapping, extortion, and first-degree murder, Hauptmann was convicted and sentenced to death. He was electrocuted at Trenton State Prison on April 3, 1936. What became known as the "The Crime of the Century" led US Congress to enact the "Lindbergh Law". In June 1932, kidnapping became a federal offense.

Charles Lindbergh had many other love affairs in his lifetime. While living in Europe, attempting to shield himself from the media frenzy that haunted his family after the death of his son, Lindbergh began an affair with Brigitte Hesshaimer. This relationship would last until his death in 1974. In addition to the six children he fathered with Anne Lindbergh, Charles fathered three children with Hesshaimer.

Public discretion was of some importance to Lindbergh during these times, the two attempted, and were successful, in keeping their affair secret from everyone, including their children. The affair was only brought to light after both Brigitte and Anne Morrow Lindbergh had died.

In addition to the children he fathered with Hesshaimer, he also fathered two children with her sister, Marietta. Two other children were the result of a relationship with his private secretary, an East Prussian aristocrat named Valeska. There have been various claims of other children fathered by Lindbergh throughout Europe.

Lindbergh wrote letters to his mistresses from his deathbed asking for confidentiality regarding their relationships.

In August 1974, Charles Lindbergh died of lymphoma.

He is buried on the grounds of the Palapala Ho'omau Church in Kipahulu, Maui. There is some talk about those remains being moved because of a volcano (anyone have information about this?).

Sources

• Wikipedia contributors. "Charles Lindbergh." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Sep. 2015. Web. 9 Sep. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>
• Wikipedia contributors. "Kipahulu, Hawaii." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Sep. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. Link to Article

More Genealogy Tools