PRESIDENT COOLIDGE BESTOWS LINDBERGH 



AWARD 



The National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal Is 

 Presented to Aviator Before the Most Notable 

 Gathering in the History of 

 Washington 



FRr)M the hands of President Cool- 

 idge, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, 

 first to fly the Atlantic alone, re- 

 ceived America's highest award to explor- 

 ers, the Hubbard Gold Medal of the Na- 

 tional Geographic Society, in Washing- 

 ton's largest auditorium, before the most 

 distinguished audience ever gathered for 

 such an occasion in the National Capital, 

 on the evening of November 14, 1927. 



The eminent jurists of the United States 

 Supreme Court, virtually all the members 

 of the President's Cabinet, and all the 

 United States Senators and Representa- 

 tives then in Washington ; members of the 

 Diplomatic Corps from all over the world 

 in their full-dress regalia ; ranking officers 

 of the Army and Navy; the Director of 

 the Budget; members of the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission, and many other 

 Government officials and noted scientists 

 and private citizens formed the brilliant 

 gathering which did honor to the 25-year- 

 old hero, youngest man to receive the 

 Hubbard Medal or any comparable honor. 



FAMOUS TRANSOCEANIC FLYERS PRESENT 



With the modest young flyer on the 

 platform, besides the President of the 

 United States, were Mrs. Coolidge, Mrs. 

 Lindbergh, Dr. Gilbert Grosvenor, Presi- 

 dent of the National Geographic Society, 

 and Dr. John Oliver La Gorce, Vice Presi- 

 dent of the National Geographic Societv. 

 With them were the Hon. William P. 

 AlacCracken, Assistant Secretary of Com- 

 merce for Aeronautics, and the Hon. 

 Everett Sanders, Secretary to the Presi- 

 dent. 



Flanking this group were famous trans- 

 oceanic flyers who had contriluited epochal 

 achievements to the aerial conquests of the 

 oceans. And with the aviators sat Dr. 

 Orville Wright, whom many of those 

 present remembered meeting when that 

 pioneer of the air was in Washington with 



his brother conducting the experiments 

 which culminated in launching an airplane 

 from a creaky rail at Fort Myer, Virginia, 

 and thus inaugurating the science which 

 thrilled the world when Colonel Lindbergh 

 flew from New York to Paris. 



Every seat in the Washington Audi- 

 t(jrium was taken, police guards had to be 

 thrown around the building to keep those 

 from entering who did not have tickets, 

 and six thousand members of The Society 

 saw the historic ceremonies which were 

 broadcast to millions of other Americans. 

 For weeks the offices of the National Geo- 

 graphic Society were besieged for admis- 

 sion to the exercises, and a clerical force 

 had been kept busy explaining to per- 

 sonal applicants, and answering thousands 

 of letters from others, that the ticket sup- 

 ply had been exhausted when the 6,000th 

 fortunate member of The Society had 

 claimed the last available seat coupon. 



The U. S. Army Band began playing at 8 

 o'clock and at 8:35 Colonel Lindbergh en- 

 tered, accompanied by his mother and Dr. 

 La Gorce. Ten minutes later, the Presi- 

 dent of the United States and Mrs. Cool- 

 idge came on the stage with Dr. Grosvenor. 

 Dr. Grosvenor, in presenting the Presi- 

 dent, congratulated him, as Commander- 

 in-Chief of all our air forces, on the amaz- 

 ing contributions of the Government's air- 

 men. 



PRESIDENT COOEIDGE INTRODUCES 

 COLONEE EINDBERGII 



President Coolidge complimented Colo- 

 nel Lindbergh's achievement in an address 

 which was continually interrupted by ap- 

 plause, especially when he said that Colo- 

 nel Lindbergh, after his flight, "deter- 

 mined to capitalize his fame, not for self- 

 ish aggrandizement, but for the promo- 

 tion of the art he loves," and again when 

 he referred to him as "this courageous, 

 clear-headed, sure-handed youth, whose 



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