National Air Races, from 1928 through 1939

Charles Lindbergh (1902 – 1974) was an American aviator, author, inventor, military officer, explorer, and social activist. At age 25, Lindbergh, a U.S. Air Mail pilot, made his  33 1⁄2 hours prize-winning solo nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France. He flew the distance of nearly 3,600 miles (5,800 km) in a single-seat, single-engine, purpose-built Ryan monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh used his fame and the development of both commercial aviation and Air Mail services in the United States and the Americas. In March 1932, his infant son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in what was dubbed the "Crime of the Century". Lindbergh supported the isolationist America First movement, which advocated that America remain neutral during the war, as had his father, Congressman Charles August Lindbergh, during World War I. Nevertheless, Lindbergh publicly supported the war effort after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific Theater of World War II as a civilian consultant. In his later years, Lindbergh became a prolific prize-winning author, international explorer, inventor, and environmentalist.

Clifford "Cliff" Henderson (1896-1984) was one of the early organizers of the National Air Races, and managed the races from 1928 through 1939. He and his brother were also the founders of Palm Desert. The mission of the Library and Archives at the San Diego Air &and Space Museum is to identify, acquire, preserve and make available for research published, documentary and visual materials that chronicle the development of aerospace technology and experience.