Lindbergh, Anne Morrow

Upon marrying the most famous man in the world, Charles A. Lindbergh, every aspect of Anne Morrow's life was scrutinized by the press, especially after the “crime of the century”: the kidnapping, ransom, and death of their first son, Charles. Like many women of her class, Lindbergh struggled with the dual desires of balancing her professional and personal life. A noted diarist and essayist, Lindbergh accompanied her spouse, an aviation pioneer, on many flights and documented their exploits in her fiction and nonfiction.

She was born in Englewood, New Jersey, to Dwight Morrow and Elizabeth Cutter on June 22, 1906. Morrow was a businessman connected to J. P. Morgan and later became a U.S. Senator, while Anne's mother was an activist and poet. Anne spent most of her childhood writing poems and fairy tales rather than playing with her sisters and brother. She was shy, tall, and reserved. She attended Miss Chapin's School in New York City and graduated from Smith College, her mother's alma mater, with [Page 657]a B.A. in 1928, the same year that she won several coveted literary prizes at the college.

Once Charles Lindbergh became the first man to make a solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris, France, he became an instant celebrity—in fact, the world's first mega-celebrity—and received $5 million in endorsements that year. The press hounded him for stories and photos. Outrageous lies and staged photos were regularly published about Charles, and from these he developed an intense hatred and mistrust of the press.

After an engagement of three months, Charles and Anne married May 27, 1929, and Anne became the center of a whirlwind of public scrutiny, which was difficult given her diffident nature. Strangers offered her congratulations and advice in person and via correspondence. Reporters followed their footsteps. Her servants were bribed for information about her habits. The newly married couple resorted to disguises to go about their ordinary business.

Rumors of her pregnancy escaped upon their return from their honeymoon, but Lindbergh did not find herself pregnant with their first of six children until October. The couple planned to have the child at Lindbergh's parents' estate in Englewood, which offered protection and privacy that a maternity ward in a hospital would not. On her 24th birthday, June 22, 1930, Lindbergh gave birth to a son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr.

Dubbed the “Little Eaglet,” the news of his birth made headlines in the newspapers and rang out over the airwaves once the Lindberghs released it to the press. Thousands of well-wishers sent notes to the couple as well as gifts. When the Lindberghs refused to make public photos of the newborn, rumors circulated that their reluctance was because the baby was deformed or retarded. To quell the rumors, Charles released photos he personally snapped.

Most of Charlie's care was handled by the baby's nurse, Betty Gow, upon whom Lindbergh relied for two reasons: First, as a matter of social class, Lindbergh was not expected to attend to every one of her son's needs. Second, her detached mothering philosophy led her to follow the advice of Dr. John B. Watson, who advocated that parents treat their children as small adults. No cuddling or kissing, and one must keep to a strict, scientific schedule.

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