George P. Putnam - Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

A significant event in Putnam's personal and business life occurred in 1928, before the merger. Because of his reputation for working with Lindbergh, he was contacted by Amy Guest, a wealthy American living in London who wanted to sponsor the first-ever flight by a woman across the Atlantic Ocean.

Guest asked Putnam to find a suitable candidate and he eventually came up with the then-unknown Amelia Earhart. As it turned out, they shared many common interests: hiking, swimming, camping, riding, tennis and golf. Having divorced in 1929, Putnam spent an extensive amount of time with Earhart, which resulted in an intimate relationship and, in 1931, their marriage.

Following Earhart's successful 1932 flight, Putnam organized her public engagements and speaking tour across the United States. Shortly after, he took charge of promoting her career and arranged for endorsement contracts with a luggage manufacturer and a line of ladies' sportswear. In addition, Putnam published two books Earhart wrote about her flying adventures.

Earhart disappeared in 1937 while attempting to set another flying record to fly around the world, and Putnam published her biography in 1939 under the title Soaring Wings. Putnam later donated many of Earhart's belongings, including a flight jacket, to Purdue University, where she had worked as a career counselor. Other personal effects were sent to the Women's Archives in New York.

Putnam had Earhart declared dead on January 5, 1939, and remarried on May 21 of that year to Jean-Marie Cosigny James.