The First Man of the Year

March 14, 2025

“Whether outwardly or inwardly, whether in space or time, the farther we penetrate the unknown, the vaster and more marvelous it becomes.”
- Charles Lindbergh

Time Magazine’s first Man of the Year.

Notoriously shy, Lindbergh earned the cover of the magazine by being the first person ever to complete a non-stop transatlantic flight. It took him 33.5 hours to complete the feat.

Lindbergh’s life was turbulent. A few years after his historic flight, his infant son was kidnapped and killed in what was deemed “The crime of the century”. The tragedy is why kidnapping is now considered a federal crime when a perpetrator crosses state lines.

In the lead up to World War Two he was an outspoken non-interventionist. It labeled him as a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer. Post Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh became an avid supporter of the war effort but President Roosevelt refused to restore his colonel commission. He instead flew 50 combat missions as a “civilian consultant” in the Pacific Theater.

Near the end of his life he added the title of Author to his long list of achievements writing the book “The Spirit of St Louis” that would earn him a Pulitzer Prize.