Mary Ann Campana, born Edvige Bianca Maria Campana (

Barrea Barrea ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is located on the shore of the Lago di Barrea, a lake created after World War II due to the building of a dam on the river Sangro. History Th ...

, 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.

Biography

Edvige Campana was born in

( AQ), in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, on April 8, 1913 to Salvatore Campana and Maria Lombardozzi. In 1921, she emigrated with her four sisters and her parents in search of work, and settled in

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, Ohio, which was a thriving industrial center where an uncle already lived. Taking "Mary Ann" as her first name, she was educated at Lincoln Elementary and East High School. Later she attended Youngstown College. 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. 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. 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. Campana retired to Lakewood in

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second ...

near

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, where she died in 2009 at the age of 96.

Honors

Knight of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

– ordinary uniform ribbon: "On the initiative of the President of the Republic

Francesco Cossiga Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; , ; 1928 – 2010)
. was an Italian politician who served as President of ...

" – October 11, 1990

Other acknowledgments

* 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.) * She received awards and honors from President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, and from the

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

and the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

. * In 2015, an exhibition dedicated to her was set up at the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum in

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

, Ohio. * In 2022, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in her birthplace, the municipality of Barrea, Italy.

References

External links

Mary Ann Campana in ohiohistorycentral.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campana, Mary Ann 1913 births 2009 deaths Italian aviators Aviators from Ohio American women aviators Women aviation pioneers People from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State University alumni Italian women aviators