Amelia Earhart, the famed aviator who disappeared while trying to become the first woman to fly solo around the world, would have been 121 years old on Tuesday. Her death is still shrouded in mystery, theories and hoaxes.
Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937. Here are the top five theories about what happened to Earhart and Noonan.
1.Crashed into the Pacific Ocean: According to History.com, this is the most accepted theory among researchers. Many experts believe Earhart got slightly off course in trying to find the refueling station at Howland Island. Earhart had contacted the U.S. Coast Guard explaining their trouble in finding the tiny island. The belief is she simply ran out of gas and crashed, killing them both, History.com said. No remains or parts of the plane have ever been found.
2. Died after safely landing on Gardner Island: In a theory supported by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, Earhart missed Howland Island but found Gardner Island, which is now called Nikumaroro, but both died before they could be rescued, History.com ventured. This theory has gained more attention with the reported discovery during expeditions to the island of an empty jar of the freckle cream Earhart preferred and a piece of Plexiglas similar to that used in the Lockheed Electra airplane she flew. TIGHAR argues that Earhart and possibly Noonan lived for a time as castaways on the waterless atoll, relying on rain squalls for drinking water before dying at a makeshift campsite on the island's southeast side.
3. Earhart was actually a spy: Sparked by the fiction movie "Flight for Freedom," starring Rosalind Russell as Earhart in 1943, rumor suggested that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had enlisted the aviator to spy on Japan, even though her flight route never came close to the island, History.com noted. Her flight was very public as well, appearing in newspapers around the world at the time, the website stated.
4. Earhart was captured by Japan, became a POW: William "Bill" Sablan recently told the Pacific Daily News that his uncle Tun Akin Tuho worked at a prison in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands, where Earhart and Noonan reportedly were imprisoned by the Japanese. He claimed that they were killed shortly after their arrival and their plane dumped in the Pacific Ocean. Another similar theory of their capture by the Japanese fizzled when a purported photo of the two being held by the Japanese proved to be taken years before their flight.
5. Earhart was secretly repatriated to New Jersey: The author of a 1970 book claimed that New Jersey banker Irene Bolam was actually Amelia Earhart, History.com. wrote. The book theorized that Earhart was found in Japan after World War II and secretly given a new identity. Bolam sued the author for $1.5 million but later withdrew the suit, possibly settling out of court, Hisotry.com wrote.
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