Adventurers & Explorers Amelia Earhart As Amelia Earhart was growing up, the popularity of flying was also growing. Watch President Theodore Roosevelt get invited to fly in this film from 1910 MPEG Format (31.0 MB) Help With Video Credits Amelia Earhart Learns to Fly Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, 1897. In those days, airplanes were not nearly as common as they are today. Earhart was 12 years old before she ever saw an airplane, and she did not take her first flight until 1920. Amelia Earhart was so thrilled by her first airplane ride that she quickly began to take flying lessons. She wrote, "As soon as I left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly." page 1 of 2 Library Of Congress | Legal Notices | Privacy | Site Map | Contact Us VIDEO CREDIT: "Colonel Roosevelt is invited to fly in Arch Hoxsey's plane at St. Louis, Mo., 1910." Early Motion Pictures, 1897-1920, Library of Congress