America's most famous record breaker, Charles Lindbergh, was born in 1902 in Detroit.  From an early age, Lindbergh was interested in cars, motorbikes and airplanes.  He was so taken by aviation that he dropped out of college in 1922 to take flying lessons.  He soon became an accomplished pilot, barnstormed, gave flight lessons and got his Army's Air Service Pilot Wings.  

Lindbergh's Father was a congressman who traveled often, and Lindbergh attended over a dozen schools before he graduated. 

In 1926 Lindbergh served as the chief pilot for Contract Airmail Route #2, between St. Louis and Chicago.

One record breaker who had one of the most interesting pre-aviation careers was the first woman to fly across the English Channel: Harriet Quimby.  Before she made her historic flight in 1912, Harriet worked as a theater critic and also wrote the script for 7 films, all of which were directed by D.W. Griffith.

Just a few months after flying across the English Channel, Harriet Quimby would die when performing in an Airshow in Boston.

The first person to pilot an aircraft over the South Pole, Norwegian Bernt Balchen served in the French Foreign Legion and almost qualified as a boxer for the 1920 Olympic Games. 

Balchen's dreams of participating in the the Olympics were sidetracked when he decided to pursue an aviation career.

Amelia Earhart, one of the most famous record breakers, almost died at an early age in 1918 when she fell ill due to the Spanish Flu.  Although she recovered, Earhart would suffer from Chronic sinusitis for the rest of her life. 

Amelia Earhart was quite adventurous as a girl, and even built a roller coaster in the back yard of her childhood home in Kansas.

Next Page: The Warriors.