Mary Katherine Campbell (December 18, 1905 – June 7, 1990) was the only person to win the Miss America pageant twice and the second woman in history to win the title.

Early life and education

Campbell's Miss America biography stated she is "typically American and altogether an ideal type", and that "her forebearers for ten generations have been American born". Campbell had graduated with a diploma from East High School in February 1922, and entered

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

as an art major after her selection as Miss America. This made her the first pageant winner to attend college. She also attended Ohio Wesleyan University. She was a member of

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...

's Ohio Beta chapter at Ohio State University.

Pageantry

She became "Miss Columbus" over a field of 170 other women, and proceeded to Atlantic City, where the Inter-City competition had grown to include 57 women from around the country. It would be the last time in Miss America history where "professional" (model,

Dorothy Knapp Dorothy Knapp (born about 1900) was an American dancer, actress, model and Ziegfeld girl. Early life Dorothy Knapp was born in Chicago, or Dallas (sources vary). She lived in New York City after 1915, and was dancing professionally by 1916, in ...

) and "amateur" (West Philadelphia's Gladys Grenemeyer) winners would be judged as finalists against the "Inter-City" champion (Mary Katherine Campbell) and place as runners-up to the Miss America title. Campbell entered her second successful attempt in the beauty pageant as Miss America competing in Atlantic City against a field of 74 other women from 36 states. Campbell was

Miss America 1922 Miss America 1922, the second annual Miss America pageant, was held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey from September 7–9, 1922. At the conclusion of the event, Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., ...

and

Miss America 1923 Miss America 1923, the third Miss America pageant, was held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, September 7, 1923. The incumbent, 17-year-old Mary Katherine Campbell, retained her title due primarily to her vict ...

, and she was also 1st runner-up at the 1924 Miss America pageant. Competing as " Miss Columbus," Campbell was only sixteen years old at the time of her first crowning in 1922. She lied about her age by nearly one year to enter the pageant held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She said that she was born in May 1905 but later admitted that she had lied about her age. After the 1924 pageant and the judges' scores revealed that Campbell had almost won the title a third time, the Miss America Organization changed the rules so that "a contestant may only win the Miss America title once."

Career offers

Campbell received offers from three movies, two

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals, and a circus. She was even approached by

Flo Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also ...

to become a

Ziegfeld Girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Desc ...

, and perform with the famous

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

chorus girls, but her mother wouldn't permit it. Campbell sang "My Buddy" on the B. F. Keith Circuit for several weeks, but, "You couldn't hear me past the third row," she explained.

Personal life

Campbell married Frederick Stanton Townley (1903–1987), an executive at DuPont. She died in San Francisco county in 1990, aged 84, and was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio ...

, next to her late husband.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Mary Katherine 1990 deaths 1905 births Burials at Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware, Ohio Miss America 1920s delegates Miss America winners Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni