Mary Ann Campana | |
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Born | Edvige Bianca Maria Campana April 8, 1913
Barrea, Italy |
Died | 2009 |
Occupation(s) | aviator and businessperson |
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.
Edvige 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]
Knight 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]