Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan. Lindbergh studied mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin before leaving to explore his interest in flight. He then became a daredevil pilot performing at fairs and other events before he eventually joined the military in 1924 as an Army Air Force Reserve pilot. In the 1920s, hotel owner Raymond Orteig was offering a prize of $25,000 to the first pilot to make the journey from New York to Paris without making any stops. Lindbergh took up this challenge and flew a monoplane named Spirit of St Louis. Lindbergh landed at Le Bourguet Field near Paris after 33.5 hours in the air, this was the first ever solo transatlantic flight in history. Lindbergh received many prestigious honors, including the Distinguished Flying Cross medal from President Calvin Coolidge. Seeking a life away from the spotlight, Lindbergh and his wife went to live on an estate in Hopewell, New Jersey. The couple started a family with the birth of their first child, Charles Augustus, Jr. At only 20 months old, the boy was kidnapped from their home in 1932. The Lindberghs paid the $50,000 ransom, but their son's dead body was found in the nearby woods weeks later.