Editing Amelia Earhart (section)

== Aviation career and marriage ==
=== First woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1928 ===
[[File:Amelia Earhart 1928.jpg|thumb|upright|Amelia Earhart prior to her transatlantic crossing of June 17, 1928]]

In 1928, Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane. The project coordinators included publisher and publicist [[George P. Putnam]], who later became her husband. She was a passenger, with the plane flown by [[Wilmer Stultz]] and copilot/mechanic Louis Gordon. On June 17, 1928, the team departed from [[Trepassey, Newfoundland and Labrador|Trepassey Harbor]], [[Newfoundland]], in a [[Fokker F.VII]]b/3m named ''Friendship'' and landed at [[Pwll]] near [[Burry Port]], South Wales, exactly 20 hours and 40 minutes later.{{sfn|Bryan|1979|p=132}} The flight duration became the title to her book about the expedition ''[[20 Hrs. 40 Min.]]''

Earhart had no training on this type of aircraft and did not pilot the plane. When interviewed after landing, she said: "Stultz did all the flying—had to. I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes&nbsp;... maybe someday I'll try it alone."{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|1997|p=54}} Despite her feeling, she gained international attention from the press and was greeted like a heroine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/medal-amelia-earhart-first-woman-to-cross-the-atlantic-by-airplane/nasm_A19640152000|title=Medal, Amelia Earhart, First Woman to Cross the Atlantic by Airplane &#124; National Air and Space Museum|website=airandspace.si.edu}}</ref>

On June 19, 1928, Earhart flew to [[Woolston, Southampton]], England, where she received a rousing welcome.<ref>''Southampton: A pictorial peep into the past''. Southern Newspapers Ltd, 1980.</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2024}} She had changed aircraft and flew an [[Avro Avian]] 594 Avian III, SN: R3/AV/101 that was owned by Irish aviator [[Mary, Lady Heath|Lady Mary Heath]], the first woman to hold a commercial flying licence in Britain. Earhart later acquired the aircraft and had it shipped to the United States.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.goldenwingsmuseum.com/collection/AC-Pages/Avro%20Avian.html |title=1927 Avro Avian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102220027/http://www.goldenwingsmuseum.com/collection/AC-Pages/Avro%20Avian.html |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |website=goldenwingsmuseum.com |access-date= July 1, 2013}}</ref>

When Stultz, Gordon, and Earhart returned to the United States on July 6, they were greeted with a [[ticker-tape parade]] along the [[Canyon of Heroes]] in Manhattan, followed by a reception with President [[Calvin Coolidge]] at the [[White House]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/427656|title=Parade in New York City for Amelia Earhart and the "Friendship" Crew, July 6, 1928 - The Henry Ford|website=www.thehenryford.org}}</ref>

=== Celebrity status ===

When Earhart became famous, the press dubbed her "Lady Lindy", because of her physical resemblance to the famous male aviator [[Charles Lindbergh]]{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|1997|p=55}}{{sfn|Glines|1997|p=44}} and "Queen of the Air".{{sfn|Rich|1989|p=177}} Immediately after her return to the United States, Earhart undertook an exhausting lecture tour in 1928 and 1929. Putnam had undertaken to heavily promote Earhart in a campaign that included publishing a book she wrote, a series of new lecture tours, and using pictures of her in media endorsements for products including luggage. A [[Lucky Strike]] cigarettes endorsement caused ''[[McCall's]]'' magazine to retract their offer.{{sfn|Pearce|1988|p=76}} The money Earhart made from Lucky Strike had been intended to support [[Richard Evelyn Byrd]]'s imminent expedition to the South Pole.{{sfn|Pearce|1988|p=76}}

The marketing campaign by both Earhart and Putnam was successful in establishing the Earhart mystique in the public psyche.<ref>Crouch, Tom D. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121928/http://www.americanheritage.com/rss/articles/web/20070702-fred-noonan-lockheed-electra-george-putnam-tighar-ric-gillespie-david-jourdan.shtml "Searching for Amelia Earhart."] ''Invention & Technology'', Summer 2007 via americanheritage.com. (archived). accessed: July 2, 2010.</ref> Rather than simply endorsing the products, Earhart became involved in the promotions, especially in women's fashions. The "active living" lines that were sold in stores such as [[Macy's]] were an expression of Earhart's new image.<ref>V Morell (1998) Amelia Earhart. [[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] '''193'''(1), 112–135</ref> Her concept of simple, natural lines matched with wrinkle-proof, washable materials was the embodiment of a sleek, purposeful, but feminine "A.E.", the familiar name she used with family and friends.{{sfn|Rich|1989|p=177}}{{sfn|Lovell|1989|p=135}} Celebrity endorsements helped Earhart finance her flying.<ref>[http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org/ "Biography of Amelia Earhart."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205052158/http://ameliaearhartmuseum.org/ |date=December 5, 2006 }} ''Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum''. accessed: July 2, 2010.</ref>

=== Promoting aviation ===

[[File:Aa earhart subj e.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Studio portrait of Amelia Earhart, {{circa|1932}}. Putnam instructed Earhart to disguise a "gap-toothed" smile by keeping her mouth closed in formal photographs.]]

Earhart accepted a position as associate editor at [[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|''Cosmopolitan'']] and used it to campaign for greater public acceptance of aviation, especially focusing on the role of women entering the field.{{sfn|Glines|1997|p=45}} In 1929, [[Transcontinental Air Transport]] (TAT) appointed Earhart and [[Margaret Bartlett Thornton]] to promote air travel, particularly for women,<ref>{{cite news |title=TAT Plane Talk |url=https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/api/collection/twa/id/8058/download |access-date=24 March 2022 |volume=1|issue=9 |date=Sep 1929 |archive-date=January 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112001658/https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/api/collection/twa/id/8058/download |url-status=live }}</ref> and Earhart helped set up the [[Ludington Airline]], the first regional shuttle service between New York and Washington, D.C. Earhart was appointed Vice President of National Airways, which operated [[Boston-Maine Airways]] and several other airlines in the northeastern US, and by 1940 had become [[Northeast Airlines]].<ref>''Boston and Maine Railroad Employees Magazine'', Volume 8, Number 10, July 1933, copy in Purdue University Special Collections.</ref> In 1934, Earhart interceded on behalf of [[Isabel Ebel]], who had helped Earhart in 1932, to be accepted as the first woman student of aeronautical engineering at [[New York University]] (NYU).<ref>{{Cite web |title=MIT AeroAstro News June 2012 |url=http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/news/enews/june12/index.html |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=web.mit.edu |archive-date=January 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112001702/http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/news/enews/june12/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Competitive flying ===

In August 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the North American continent and back.<ref name="Mendieta">Mendieta, Carlene. [http://www.ameliaflight.com/ameliaflight/flight.po "Amelia Earhart's Flight Across America: Rediscovering a Legend."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929221217/http://www.ameliaflight.com/ameliaflight/flight.po |date=September 29, 2007 }} ''ameliaflight.com''. accessed: May 21, 2007.</ref> Her piloting skills and professionalism gradually grew, and she was acknowledged by experienced professional pilots who flew with her. General Leigh Wade, who flew with Earhart in 1929, said: "She was a born flier, with a delicate touch on the stick."{{sfn|Rich|1989|p=85}}

Earhart made her first attempt at competitive air racing in 1929 during the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland [[Women's Air Derby]] (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by [[Will Rogers]]), which left [[Santa Monica, California]], on August 18 and arrived at [[Cleveland, Ohio]], on August 26. During the race, Earhart settled into fourth place in the "heavy planes" division. At the second-to-last stop at Columbus, Earhart's friend [[Ruth Nichols]], who was in third place, had an accident; her aircraft hit a tractor and flipped over, forcing her out of the race.{{sfn|Lauber|1989|p=47}} At Cleveland, Earhart was placed third in the heavy division.{{sfn|Jessen|2002|p=193}}<ref>''San Bernardino County Sun''. August 26, 1929.</ref>

In 1930, Earhart became an official of the [[National Aeronautic Association]], and in this role, she promoted the establishment of separate women's records and was instrumental in persuading the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] (FAI) to accept a similar international standard.{{sfn|Glines|1997|p=45}} On April 8, 1931,<ref>"Miss Earhart Sets Autogiro Record", ''The New York Times'', April 9, 1931, p. 1</ref><ref>"The Autogiro Flies the Mail!", by W. David Lewis, in ''Realizing the Dream of Flight'', ed. by Virginia P. Dawson (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2005) p. 78</ref> Earhart set a world altitude record of {{convert|18415|ft}} flying a [[Pitcairn PCA-2]]<ref>[https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/model-static-pitcairn-pca-2-beech-nut "Model, Static, Pitcairn PCA-2 ("Beech-Nut")."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924183750/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/model-static-pitcairn-pca-2-beech-nut |date=September 24, 2017 }} ''[[National Air and Space Museum]]''. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref> [[autogyro]] she borrowed from the [[Beech-Nut]] Chewing Gum company.<ref>Nesbit, Roy Conyers. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dTewDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 "Missing: Believed Killed: Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson, Glenn Miller & The Duke of Kent."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112001741/https://books.google.com/books?id=dTewDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |date=January 12, 2024 }} ''Pen & Sword Military'', 2010. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.historynet.com/aviators-amelia-earharts-autogiro-adventures.htm 'Aviators: Amelia Earhart's Autogiro Adventures.'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612205958/http://www.historynet.com/aviators-amelia-earharts-autogiro-adventures.htm |date=June 12, 2011 }} ''[[HistoryNet]]''. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reuther |first1=Ronald T. |last2=Larkins |first2=William T. |title=Oakland Aviation |year=2008 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-5600-0 |pages=20–21}}</ref>{{sfn|Van Pelt|2008|pages=20–21}}

During this period, Earhart became involved with [[Ninety-Nines]], an organization of female pilots providing moral support and advancing the cause of women in aviation. In 1929, following the Women's Air Derby, Earhart called a meeting of female pilots. She suggested the name based on the number of the charter members, and became the organization's first president in 1930.{{sfn|Lovell|1989|p=152}} Earhart was a vigorous advocate for female pilots; when the 1934 [[Bendix Trophy Race]] banned women from competing, Earhart refused to fly screen actor [[Mary Pickford]] to Cleveland to open the race.{{sfn|Oakes|1985|p=31}}

=== Marriage to George Putnam ===

[[File:Amelia Earhart and husband George Putnam 1931.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Earhart and Putnam in 1931]]

Earhart married her public relations manager [[George P. Putnam]] on February 7, 1931, in Putnam's mother's house in [[Noank, Connecticut]], in what has been described as a [[marriage of convenience]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/earhart-and-george-palmer-putnam | title=Earhart and George Palmer Putnam }}</ref> Earhart had been engaged to Samuel Chapman, a chemical engineer from Boston, but she broke off the engagement on November 23, 1928.{{sfn|Lovell|1989|pp=130, 138}} Putnam, who was known as GP, was divorced in 1929 and sought out Earhart, proposing to her six times before she agreed to marry him. Earhart referred to her marriage as a "partnership" with "dual control"; in a letter to Putnam and hand-delivered to him on the day of the wedding, she wrote: <blockquote>
I want you to understand I shall not hold you to any midaevil {{Sic}} code of faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly&nbsp;... I may have to keep some place where I can go to be by myself, now and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinement of even an attractive cage.{{sfn|Lovell|1989|pp=165–166}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041107204646/http://ncbuy.com/news/wireless_news.html?qdate=2003-02-25&nav=VIEW&id=0823D7UCP05030225 "Newly Discovered Amelia Earhart Letter Shows Her Wild Side."] ''Wireless Flash News'', February 25, 2003. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>Patterson-Neubert, Amy. [http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/030224.Mobley.Earhart.html "Public to get first look at Amelia Earhart's private life."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725091511/http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/030224.Mobley.Earhart.html |date=July 25, 2006 }} ''Purdue News'', 2003. accessed: July 2, 2010.</ref></blockquote>

Earhart's ideas on marriage were liberal for the time; she believed in equal responsibilities for both breadwinners and kept her own name rather than being referred to as "Mrs. Putnam". When ''[[The New York Times]]'' referred to her as "Mrs. Putnam", she laughed it off. Putnam also learned he would be called "Mr. Earhart".{{sfn|Pearce|1988|p=82}} There was no honeymoon for the couple because Earhart was involved in a nine-day, cross-country tour promoting autogyros and the tour's sponsor Beech-Nut chewing gum. Earhart and Putnam never had children but Putnam had two sons—the explorer and writer David Binney Putnam (1913–1992), and George Palmer Putnam Jr. (1921–2013)—from his previous marriage to [[Dorothy Binney]] (1888–1982),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040604061051/http://www.rootsweb.com/~flslchs/DorothyPutnam.htm "Dorothy Binney Putnam Upton Blanding Palmer 1888–1982."] ''St. Lucie Historical Society, Inc.'' (archived). accessed: September 23, 2017.{{better source needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> an heir to her father's chemical company [[Binney & Smith]].<ref>[http://www.rootsweb.com/~flslchs/EdwinBinney.htm "Edwin Binney 1866–1934."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060713052246/http://www.rootsweb.com/~flslchs/EdwinBinney.htm |date=July 13, 2006 }} ''St. Lucie Historical Society, Inc.'' accessed: June 3, 2012.</ref>{{sfn|Lovell|1989|pp=154, 174}}

=== Transatlantic solo flight in 1932 ===
[[File:Herbert Hoover and Amelia Earhart.jpg|left|thumb|Earhart walking with President Herbert Hoover in the grounds of the White House on January 2, 1932]]
On May 20, 1932, 34-year-old Earhart set off from [[Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador|Harbour Grace]], [[Newfoundland]], with a copy of the ''[[Telegraph-Journal]]'', given to her by journalist [[Stuart Trueman]]<ref name=telegraph>"Eighty years since famed flight; Anniversary Amelia Earhart's stop in Saint John may have been brief but pivotal in record-breaking feat". ''[[The Telegraph-Journal]]'', May 19, 2012.</ref> to confirm the date of the flight.<ref name=telegraph /> She intended to fly to Paris in her single engine [[Lockheed Vega 5B]] to emulate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight five years earlier.{{sfn|Parsons|1983|pp=95–97}}{{efn|Earhart's Vega 5B was her third, after trading in two Vega 1s at the [[Lockheed Aircraft Company]]'s [[Burbank Airport|Burbank]] plant.<ref>[http://www.dmairfield.org/airplanes/NC7952/index.html "Lockheed Vega NV7952."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117190444/http://dmairfield.org/airplanes/NC7952/index.html |date=November 17, 2011 }} ''Davis-Monthan Aviation Field Register'', September 11, 2011. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref>}} Her technical advisor for the flight was the Norwegian-American aviator [[Bernt Balchen]], who helped prepare her aircraft and played the role of "decoy" for the press because he was ostensibly preparing Earhart's Vega for his own Arctic flight.{{refn|Bernt Balchen had been instrumental in other transatlantic and Arctic record-breaking flights during that period.{{sfn|Butler|1997|p=263}}}} After a flight lasting 14 hours, 56 minutes, during which she contended with strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems, Earhart landed in a pasture at [[Culmore]], north of [[Derry]], Northern Ireland. The landing was witnessed by Cecil King and T. Sawyer. When a farm hand asked, "Have you flown far?" Earhart replied, "From America."<ref>Goddard, Seth. [https://web.archive.org/web/20021005082222/http://www.life.com/Life/heroes/newsletters/nlearhart.html "Life Hero of the Week Profile: Amelia Earhart; First Lady of the Sky."] ''Time-Life (life.com)'', October 5, 2002 (archived). accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060310224954/http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/museums/emelia.asp "Amelia Earhart Centre."]| ''Derry City Council Heritage and Museum Service''. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref>

As the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, Earhart received the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] from [[United States Congress|Congress]], the Cross of Knight of the [[Légion d'honneur|Legion of Honor]] from the [[Cabinet of France|French Government]], and the Gold Medal of the [[National Geographic Society]]<ref>Sherman, Stephen. [http://acepilots.com/wwi/hfa.html "The Hall of Fame of the Air; An illustrated newspaper feature from 1935 to 1940."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502004738/http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/hfa.html |date=May 2, 2007 }} ''acepilots.com'', April 11, 2012. accessed: July 9, 2017.</ref> from President [[Herbert Hoover]]. As her fame grew, Earhart developed friendships with many people in high office, most notably First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], who shared many of Earhart's interests, especially women's causes. After flying with Earhart, Roosevelt obtained a student permit but did not further pursue her plans to learn to fly. Earhart and Roosevelt frequently communicated with each other.{{sfn|Glines|1997|p=47}} Another flyer, [[Jacqueline Cochran]], who was said to be Earhart's rival, also became her confidante during this period.{{sfn|Leder|1989|p=49}}

=== Additional solo flights ===
[[File:Amelia Earhart First Female Aviator Flies Solo Across Pacific in 18 Hours, 1932.webm|thumb|Newsreel of Earhart flying from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Oakland, California in 1935]]

On January 11, 1935, Earhart became the first aviator to fly solo from [[Honolulu]], Hawaii, to [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], California.<ref>[https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/11-january-1935/ "11–12 January 1935."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114001507/http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/11-january-1935/ |date=January 14, 2015 }}  ''This Day in Aviation'', January 11, 2017. accessed: July 13, 2017,</ref><ref>[http://aviation.hawaii.gov/aviation-pioneers/amelia-earhart/ 'Hawaii Aviation; Amelia Earhart."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116182959/http://aviation.hawaii.gov/aviation-pioneers/amelia-earhart/ |date=January 16, 2016 }}  ''aviation.hawaii.gov''. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/earhart-amelia-lockheed-model-5c-vega-special-6th-earhart-aircraft-nr-965y "Earhart, Amelia; Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (6th Earhart Aircraft, NR-965Y). (photograph)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706200417/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/earhart-amelia-lockheed-model-5c-vega-special-6th-earhart-aircraft-nr-965y |date=July 6, 2016 }} ''[[National Air and Space Museum]]''. accessed: July 13, 2017.</ref> This time, Earhart used a Lockheed 5C Vega.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.si.edu/object/lockheed-vega-5b-amelia-earhart%3Anasm_A19670093000|title=Lockheed Vega 5B, Amelia Earhart|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|language=English|access-date=7 December 2022|archive-date=January 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112001632/https://www.si.edu/object/lockheed-vega-5b-amelia-earhart%3Anasm_A19670093000|url-status=live}}</ref> Although many aviators had attempted this flight, including the participants in the 1927 [[Dole Air Race]], which flew the opposite direction, and resulted in three deaths, Earhart's{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|1997|p=132}} flight was mainly routine with no mechanical breakdowns. In her final hours, she relaxed and listened to "the broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera from New York".{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|1997|p=132}}

On April 19, 1935, using her Lockheed Vega aircraft that she had named "old Bessie, the fire horse",{{efn|"Old Bessie" started out as a Vega 5 built in 1928 as c/n 36, but was modified with a replacement fuselage to become a 5B.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Richard Sanders |title=Revolution in the sky: those fabulous Lockheeds, the pilots who flew them |year=1964 |publisher=S. Greene Press |pages=199–200, 202}}</ref>}}<ref>[https://parksfield.org/airplanes/NR965Y/ "Parks Airport Lockheed Vega 5C Special NX/NR/NC965Y."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924151638/https://parksfield.org/airplanes/NR965Y/ |date=September 24, 2017 }} ''parksfield.org''. accessed: July 13, 2017.</ref> Earhart flew solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City. Earhart's next record attempt was a nonstop flight from Mexico City to New York. After she set off on May 8, her flight was uneventful, although large crowds that greeted her at [[Newark, New Jersey]], were a concern,{{sfn|Lovell|1989|p=218}} because she had to be careful not to taxi into them.

Earhart again participated in the 1935 [[Bendix Trophy]] long-distance air race, finishing fifth, the best result she could manage because her stock Lockheed Vega, whose maximum speed was {{convert|195|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}, was outclassed by purpose-built aircraft that reached more than {{convert|300|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Oakes|1985|p=35}} The race had been difficult because a competitor, Cecil Allen, died in a fire at takeoff, and [[Jacqueline Cochran]] was forced to pull out due to mechanical problems. In addition, "blinding fog"{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|1997|p=145}} and violent thunderstorms plagued the race.

Between 1930 and 1935, Earhart set seven women's speed-and-distance aviation records in a variety of aircraft, including the Kinner Airster, Lockheed Vega, and Pitcairn Autogiro. By 1935, recognizing the limitations of her "lovely red Vega" in long, transoceanic flights, Earhart contemplated a new "prize&nbsp;... one flight which I most wanted to attempt—a circumnavigation of the globe as near its waistline as could be."{{sfn|Earhart|1937|p=37}} For the new venture, she would need a new aircraft.
{{Clear}}

=== Move from New York to California ===
[[File:Amelia Earhart LOC hec.40747.jpg|thumb|left|Earhart In a [[Stearman-Hammond Y-1]]]]

In late November 1934, while Earhart was away on a speaking tour, a fire broke out at the Putnam residence in Rye, destroying many family treasures and Earhart's personal mementos.{{sfn|Lovell|1989|p=209}} Putnam had already sold his interest in the New York-based publishing company to his cousin [[Palmer Cosslett Putnam|Palmer Putnam]]. Following the fire, the couple decided to move to the west coast, where Putnam took up his new position as head of the editorial board of [[Paramount Pictures]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|North Hollywood]].{{sfn|Sloate|1990|p=64}}

At Earhart's urging, in June 1935, Putnam purchased a small house in [[Toluca Lake, Los Angeles|Toluca Lake]], a [[San Fernando Valley]] celebrity enclave community between the [[Warner Brothers]] and [[Universal Pictures]] studio complexes, where they had earlier rented a temporary residence.<ref>Altman, Elizabeth. [http://digital-library.csun.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOBOX=1&CISOPTR=1617&CISOROOT=/SFVH&REC=3 "Amelia Earhart home, Toluca Lake, 2003."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325084331/http://digital-library.csun.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOBOX=1&CISOPTR=1617&CISOROOT=%2FSFVH&REC=3 |date=March 25, 2012 }} Oviatt Library Digital Archives, Delmar T. Oviatt Library, Urban Archives Center, California State University, Northridge, California. Photo: {{as of|2003|09|29}}. accessed: September 23, 2011.</ref><ref name="TLCoChist">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110717070506/http://www.tolucalakechamber.com/History.htm  "History."] ''TolucaLakeChamber.com'', July 17, 2011. accessed: September 15, 2010.</ref>

In September 1935, Earhart and [[Paul Mantz]] established a business partnership they had been considering since late 1934, and established the short-lived Earhart-Mantz Flying School, which Mantz controlled and operated through his aviation company United Air Services, which was based at [[Burbank Airport]]. Putnam handled publicity for the school, which primarily taught instrument flying using [[Link Trainer]]s.{{sfn|Long|Long|1999|pp=53–54}} Also in 1935, Earhart joined [[Purdue University]] as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and as a technical advisor to its Department of Aeronautics.{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|1997|p=145}}