Amelia Earhart came very close to fulfilling her dream of becoming the first woman to fly solo around the world in 1937, but tragically, she was unable to complete the journey after her aircraft crashed. However, the dream she left unfinished was realized 27 years later by another remarkable woman pilot.
In 1964, this courageous aviator completed a 23,103-mile (37,180-kilometer) journey around the world in 29 days, 11 hours, and 59 minutes, making history and adding another inspiring chapter to aviation.
Known in the aviation world as Jerrie Mock, Geraldine Fredritz Mock set her sights on becoming a pilot after her very first flight at the age of seven. Determined to pursue her goal, she studied engineering at Ohio State University, where she was the only woman in the program and the only student to achieve a perfect score in her examinations.
While raising her children, Mock continued her pilot training and earned her instrument flight rating. Realizing that no woman had yet flown solo around the world, she began serious preparations for such a mission. In January 1963, she contacted the FAA to clarify international flight regulations and planned her route with the help of friends in the U.S. Air Force. Her carefully designed route ensured that she would exceed the officially recognized distance required for a world flight—22,858.8 miles (36,787.6 kilometers).
On March 19, 1964, Jerrie Mock, a mother of three, departed from Port Columbus Airport amid a large farewell ceremony attended by hundreds of people, beginning the journey that would secure her place in history. Over the course of nearly a month, she flew her single-engine Cessna 180, affectionately named “Charlie,” across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe, then continued through Africa and Asia, crossed the Pacific Islands, and finally returned to North America.
Throughout this long and demanding journey, Mock flew solo across vast bodies of water, including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans—leaving behind not only continents but also boundaries, and carving an unforgettable mark in aviation history.
She completed the 23,103-mile (37,180-kilometer) world flight in 29 days, 11 hours, and 59 minutes. The National Aeronautic Association and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale officially recognized the flight as a world speed record for circumnavigation in the C1-c aircraft class (aircraft under 1,626 kilograms), as well as the women’s world speed record for a global flight.
With this achievement, Mock set seven world records, including becoming the first woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft, the first woman to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in a single-engine aircraft, the first woman to fly a single-engine aircraft across the Pacific, the first woman to fly across the Pacific from west to east, and the first woman to cross the Pacific in both directions.
Her historic accomplishment was crowned on May 4, 1964, when U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Federal Aviation Agency’s Gold Medal.