Amy Johnson

Amy Johnson (1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot and the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Alongside her husband Jim Mollison, she set numerous long-distance records in the 1930s. Johnson's accomplishments inspired the character played by Katharine Hepburn in the 1933 film 'Christopher Strong'. During the Second World War, she served as a pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary. Johnson disappeared during a ferry flight, and the cause of her death has been a subject of discussion. Born in Kingston upon Hull, she was the daughter of Amy Hodge and John William Johnson, a fish merchant. She attended Boulevard Municipal Secondary School and the University.