MARY CROSSON, "Marvel"
• Pilot
Inducted: 2009
Deceased: 1929
MARY CROSSON, "Marvel"
Marvel Crosson learned to fly in San Diego, California. She followed her brother, Joe Crosson, to Alaska in 1927, where she received the first aviation license issued to a female pilot in the Alaska Territory. The press nicknamed her “Bird Girl” and “Pollyanna of the North” in honor of her exploits, which included setting a new altitude record for women in 1929. Marvel died in August, 1929, when her parachute failed to open properly after the plane’s engine quit.
Sources:
- Anchorage Daily News – The short, brilliant career of Alaska’s first woman pilot