Mary Ann Campana, born Edvige Bianca Maria Campana[1] (Barrea, Italy, April 8, 1913 – 2009), emigrated to the United States and became the first woman in Ohio to earn a pilot's license. She went on to set an aviation world endurance record in light aircraft in 1933.
Mary Ann Campana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Edvige Bianca Maria Campana April 8, 1913 Barrea, Italy |
| Died | 2009 (aged 95–96) |
| Occupation(s) | aviator and businessperson |
Biography
editEdvige Campana was born in Barrea (AQ), in Abruzzo, on April 8, 1913 to Salvatore Campana and Maria Lombardozzi.[1] In 1921, she emigrated with her four sisters and her parents in search of work, and settled in Youngstown, Ohio, which was a thriving industrial center where an uncle already lived. Taking "Mary Ann" as her first name,[1] she was educated at Lincoln Elementary and East High School. Later she attended Youngstown College.[2] She was working part-time at a Murphy Five and Ten store, but became so passionate about aviation that she attended a flight course at the Youngstown–Warren Regional Airport, which allowed her to obtain a pilot's license in 1932, at the age of 18, becoming the first woman in Ohio to do so.[1][2]
On June 4, 1933, the then 20-year-old pioneer of civil aviation (with 44 hours of flying time) broke the world endurance record in the light aircraft class over the skies of Mahoning County by flying a monoplane loaded with 40 gallons of gasoline for 12 hours and 27 minutes without a parachute and without refueling. Her feat broke the previous world record of 11 hours and 17 minutes.[1][2][3]
Campana flew for the last time in 1943, after which she devoted her time to business and entrepreneurship, especially the Strouss-Hirshberg department store and the May Company. Finally, she was a co-owner of the Pollyanna Clothes, a children's clothing chain.[1][3]
Campana retired to Lakewood in Cuyahoga County near Cleveland, Ohio, where she died in 2009 at the age of 96.[4]
Honors
editKnight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – ordinary uniform ribbon: "On the initiative of the President of the Republic Francesco Cossiga" – October 11, 1990[4]
Other acknowledgments
edit- In 1993, one of the Ohio Historical Markers was dedicated to Mary Ann Campana. (Marker is located to the right of the entrance door to the Youngstown Warren Regional Airport.)[3]
- She received awards and honors from President Ronald Reagan, and from the National Aeronautic Association and the National Air and Space Museum.[2][4]
- In 2015, an exhibition dedicated to her was set up at the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum in Warren, Ohio.[5]
- In 2022, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in her birthplace, the municipality of Barrea, Italy.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "La temeraria dell'Abruzzo che incantò il mondo: suo il primo volo da record". Il Centro.
- ^ a b c d "Mary Ann Campana | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu.
- ^ a b c "Mary Ann Campana Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
- ^ a b c d "Barrea ricorda Mary Ann, volò sul mondo". Il Centro.
- ^ Lariccia, Ben. "The Pride of Youngstown - La Gazzetta Italiana". www.lagazzettaitaliana.com.