<P> Charles Augustus Lindbergh ( February 4 , 1902 -- August 26 , 1974 ) , nicknamed Lucky Lindy , The Lone Eagle , and Slim was an American aviator , military officer , author , inventor , explorer , and environmental activist . At age 25 in 1927 , he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by winning the Orteig Prize : making a nonstop flight from Roosevelt Field , Long Island , New York , to Paris , France . Lindbergh covered the ​ 33 ⁄ - hour , 3,600 statute miles ( 5,800 km ) alone in a single - engine purpose - built Ryan monoplane , Spirit of St. Louis . This was not the first flight between North America and Europe , but he did achieve the first solo transatlantic flight and the first non-stop flight between North America and the European mainland . Lindbergh was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve , and he received the United States ' highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor , for the feat . </P>
<P> Charles Augustus Lindbergh ( February 4 , 1902 -- August 26 , 1974 ) , nicknamed Lucky Lindy , The Lone Eagle , and Slim was an American aviator , military officer , author , inventor , explorer , and environmental activist . At age 25 in 1927 , he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by winning the Orteig Prize : making a nonstop flight from Roosevelt Field , Long Island , New York , to Paris , France . Lindbergh covered the ​ 33 ⁄ - hour , 3,600 statute miles ( 5,800 km ) alone in a single - engine purpose - built Ryan monoplane , Spirit of St. Louis . This was not the first flight between North America and Europe , but he did achieve the first solo transatlantic flight and the first non-stop flight between North America and the European mainland . Lindbergh was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve , and he received the United States ' highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor , for the feat . </P>
who completed a transatlantic solo flight in 1927
who completed a transatlantic solo flight in 1927
Charles Augustus Lindbergh ( February 4 , 1902 -- August 26 , 1974 ) , nicknamed Lucky Lindy , The Lone Eagle , and Slim
Charles Augustus Lindbergh ( February 4 , 1902 -- August 26 , 1974 ) , nicknamed Lucky Lindy , The Lone Eagle , and Slim