10 Historical Figures That Appeared In Star Trek

"Who's Amelia Earhart?" ~ Harry Kim

I suppose we can forgive the young ensign for not having heard of one of the most famous human beings of the 20th century, if not of all time. That was 'ancient Earth,' as they put it in The 37s – the episode in which Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, along with some other alien abductees, are discovered in cryostasis on a planet in the Delta Quadrant.

The mystery surrounding Earhart's disappearance persists in the 21st century, the interest in which can often overshadow her historic achievements in aviation and trailblazing work for gender equality. Earhart was an icon in her own time, having become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932, and the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland in California, breaking numerous speed and distance records throughout her illustrious career.

It was during an attempt to fly around the world in 1937 that Earhart and Noonan disappeared. As part of the last leg of their journey, the pair took off from New Guinea and were headed to Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean. On approach, Earhart radioed to report that the plane was running low on fuel, but contact was lost. The largest search-and-rescue in US history to-date was launched, but no trace of the aircraft or its occupants was ever found.

Theories abound about the disappearance (some of which are pure conspiracy), such as the possibility of an emergency landing on another nearby uninhabited island or capture by Japanese forces. Sadly, however, and far from aliens or espionage, the most widely accepted explanation is the one that Tom Paris hangs a lantern on in the Voyager episode: Earhart and Noonan ran out of fuel, died whilst ditching at sea, and then their plane sank to the depths of the ocean.

Footage of Earhart is also shown in the opening credits of Star Trek: Enterprise, and both a starbase and starship have been named after her.