sealPurdue News
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April 22, 2002

Purdue lands new rare items for Amelia Earhart collection

Purdue University will enlarge its longstanding association with Amelia Earhart May 2 by becoming the largest, most comprehensive repository of materials relating to her life, career and mysterious disappearance. The details will be announced at noon Hangar One in the Purdue Airport, West Lafayette, Ind. Journalists are invited to attend and video will be available by satellite that afternoon.

The Earhart family will be represented at the celebration, which honors its gift of almost 500 of Earhart's personal papers and memorabilia, many never seen publicly before. The gift will be added to Purdue's present collection, which ranges from flight suits to scarfs, and a portrait to a model of one of her planes.

Earhart, whose Purdue-purchased plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on her around-the-world flight in 1937, served as a woman's counselor and visiting instructor at Purdue from 1935 to 1937.

The announcement of the new Earhart acquisitions also will launch Purdue's "Countdown to 100 Years of Flight" celebration, which acknowledges the anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first manned, powered flight and the university's ongoing role in aviation and aerospace history.

Media planning to attend are asked to reserve a spot.. On May 2, a satellite feed will be available at

4 to 4:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
3:00 3:30 p.m. Central Time
SBS 6 TRANSPONDER 8
U/L 14196.500 MHZ Horizontal
D/L 11896.500 /Vertical
Allocated Bandwidth (Mhz) 36.000

Trouble reports call: 1-800-321-3959 or (765) 423-7326

CONTACT: Jesica Webb, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2079, jwebb@purdue.edu.


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