U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for March 18

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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FRIDAY, MARCH 18: AMELIA EARHART

Profile America -- Friday, March 18th, noting Women's History Month.  Amelia Earhart took off for the first solo crossing of the Atlantic by a woman on May 20, 1932 -- five years to the day after Charles Lindbergh's historic crossing.  At the time, there were some 10,000 civil aircraft and just over 2,000 airports.  And, there were less than 19,000 licensed pilots in the U.S.  Now, there are close to 230,000 general aviation aircraft and nearly 20,000 airports across the nation.  Flying in and out of them are about 614,000 licensed pilots -- about 6 percent women.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.  

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 279

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 772

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 1082

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau