Mildred Doran

Mildred Alice Doran (10 May 1905 – 16 August 1927) was a Canadian pilot who was the only woman to enter the Dole Air Race in 1927, created to be the first to fly from California to Hawaii. During the race, she and several other competitors disappeared.

Mildred Doran
Mildred Doran in front of the plane
Born10 May 1905[1]
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada [2]
Died16 August 1927 (aged 22)
Pacific Ocean
Prototype Buhl Airsedan, 2012 outdoor display, the type of plane Mildred Doran entered into the Dole Air Race Derby in 1927 and in which she was lost.

Early life and education

Doran was born in Ontario to a Canadian father, William Doran, a farmer, and American mother, Minnie Doran. She was raised in Flint, Michigan.[3] Her father was from Canada and her mother, who was born in Michigan, died in about 1922 when she was 16. She raised her younger sister, Helen, and had brothers William and Floyd. Doran worked her way through high school as a telephone operator, continuing to do so after her graduation in 1924. A local businessman and owner of the Lincoln Petroleum Company, William Malloska, heard about her and paid for her to attend a teacher's course at Michigan State Normal School. She got interested in flying at a local airshow while she was in college. By the time of the race she was about 22 years old and working as a fifth-grade school teacher in Caro, Michigan.[4][5][6][7]

While in college, Doran became a member of Alpha Sigma Tau.[8]

The air-race

Doran convinced Malloska to enter an airplane in the Dole Air Race and to allow her to fly along. The plane, a biplane Buhl Airsedan, was named the Miss Doran in her honour. The pilot was John 'Auggy' Pedlar and the navigator was Vilas Knope.

Because of the attitudes of the day, Doran was popular for interviews with the press.[9] It was considered strange for a woman to take part. She was quoted as saying “A woman should fly just as easily as a man.… Women certainly have the courage and tenacity required for long flights.”[10] Doran wanted to be the first woman to make such an ocean flight. She had been on long overland flights with the crew before.[11][6][12]

Despite engine trouble early in the race, and attempts by the crew and crowd to get her to remain behind, Doran stayed with the plane. However, although other planes arrived in Hawaii, nothing was heard from the Miss Doran or her crew again. There was a search by the Army and Navy, and also a competitor's plane which then also went missing after joining the search.[10][13][14][15][16][17][18]

James Dole offered $20,000 to find the missing planes. Malloska added $10,000 to find his friend and the others. Hearst also added a reward. There were many tributes after her death. Ontario, Canada named a lake in her honour and Doran Tower was put up beside Lincoln Field in Flint. The tower was destroyed in 1973 because the owner could no longer afford the taxes.[10][19][20][21][7]

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References
  1. Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913
  2. Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1963
  3. 1920 United States Federal Census
  4. Claudine Burnett (4 November 2011). Soaring Skyward: A History of Aviation in and around Long Beach, California. AuthorHouse. pp. 111–. ISBN 978-1-4670-3360-2.
  5. "William Malloska". Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  6. "August 2, 1927, Page 7". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  7. "August 19, 1927 : Front Page". Benton Harbor News Palladium. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  8. Becque, Fran; Ph.D. (2016-03-14). "#WHM - Mildred Doran, Alpha Sigma Tau Aviator, #notablesororitywomen". Fraternity History & More. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  9. Ronald T. Reuther; William T. Larkins (2008). Oakland Aviation. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-0-7385-5600-0.
  10. "Above & Beyond: Aunt Mildred". Airspacemag.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  11. "August 1, 1927 : Front Page". Waterloo Evening Courier. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  12. "July 7, 1927 : Front Page". Lima News. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  13. "16 August 1927: The Dole Air Race - This Day in Aviation". Https:. Retrieved December 2, 2016.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  14. "John Pedlar, Vilas Knope, and Mildred Doran". Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  15. "The MILDRED DORAN Page of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website". Dmairfield.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  16. "THE CORNELIUS BURTON COSGROVE, JR. Photograph and Document Collection Page of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website". Dmairfield.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  17. "Dole Air Race - 1927". Sfmuseum.org. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  18. "Lessons Learned, 1927 - Pan Am Historical Foundation". Panam.org. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  19. "Oakland Tribune, August 11, 1957, Page 113". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  20. "August 19, 1927 : Front Page". Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  21. "Altoona Mirror, August 18, 1927 : Front Page". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved December 2, 2016.

Further reading
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