Airlene of Miami may have been the first baby born in an airplane, but Lindbergh of Manitoba was probably the first baby to be born unexpectedly in a airplane. He was also likely the first baby to be born while flying over Canada.
A pregnant Mrs. Alex Miller had been riding the Hudson Bay Railway in Canada on March 29, 1931, when it was decided that she should be rushed to The Pas, Manitoba, for the delivery of her child. So she was loaded into a Fairchild monoplane owned by the Royal Canadian Air Force and piloted by Flight Lieutenant A. L. McPhee.
But the baby did not want to wait. He was born 15 minutes into the flight at an elevation of 4,000 feet.
He was named Lindbergh Wright Cook Miller. The first name honors aviator Charles Lindbergh, who in 1927 became the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic. No explanation was offered for Wright, but I think it’s plausible that it was inspired by the Wright brothers.
Sources:
- “Boy Born in Plane.” Palm Beach Post 31 Mar. 1931: 1.
- “Baby Born in Plane Named for Lindbergh.” Berkeley Daily Gazette 31 Mar. 1931: 16.
Image: Adapted from Air Canada Boeing 777-333ER by MarcusObal under CC BY-SA 3.0.
