March 5, 1928 Mabel Boll, aka “The Queen of Diamonds” road as a passenger from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York to Havana, Cuba. Boll rose from cigar girl to millionairess and was known for wearing thousands of dollars of jewels everywhere she went. She dueled with Amelia Earhart and Thea Rasche to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic. All three women were stationed in Newfoundland ready for take off. Earhart’s plane, sponsored by publicist G. P. Putnam and heiress Amy Phipps Guest took off first and Earhart claimed the prize. Earhart suggested to the press that she’d been at the controls rather than a mere backseat passenger but years later admitted the hoax.
