West Lafayette - A whole new generation is about to be exposed to Amelia Earhart. The movie Amelia is scheduled to be in theaters this Friday. Her story is very familiar to Indiana because of her close ties to Purdue University.

Nearly three quarters of a century, 72 autumns to be exact, have passed over the Purdue campus since she was here. Purdue has close ties to the life and the legacy of the woman who died trying to fly around the world.

"She wanted to see if she could do it," said Dr. Robin Jensen, communications professor.

"To me Amelia Earhart is like a comet that shot across the 1930s," said John Norberg, Purdue aviation author.

Amelia Earhart had already "arrived" by the time she arrived at Purdue University in 1935, at the invitation of then President Edward Elliott. She was plucked out of obscurity as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic with two male pilots in 1928. In 1935 she flew solo across the Atlantic, five years after Lindberg.

If you are interested in purchasing Amelia Earhart products,
please visit our online store.