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 The ...

, 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 (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, 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 the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

, 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 Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

. 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 Youngstown–Warren Regional Airport is a public and military airport in Vienna Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, 11 miles north of Youngstown and east of Warren. The airport is home to the Youngstown–Warren Air Reserve Station. The 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 Lakewood may refer to: Places Australia * Lakewood, Western Australia, an abandoned town in Western Australia Canada * Lakewood, Edmonton, Alberta * Lakewood Suburban Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Philippines * Lakewood, Zamboanga del S ...

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

near

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 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 ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

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

Francesco Cossiga Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; sc, Frantziscu Maurìtziu Còssiga, ; 1928 – 2010)
. was an Italian pol ...

" – 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, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, and from the National Aeronautic Association and the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

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

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

, 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