Mildred Doran

Mildred Doran
Mildred Doran in front of the plane
Born	c.1905 Flint, Michigan, US
Died	16 August 1927 Pacific Ocean

Mildred Doran (c.1905-16 August 1927) was the only woman to enter the Dole Air Race in 1927, created to be the first to fly from California to Hawaii. Along with her crew and several other planes she went missing on that flight.

Life and disappearance

Doran was born about 1905 in Flint, Michigan to farmer William Doran. Her mother 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 and after as a telephone operator. She graduated in 1924. A local businessman, 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.^[1][2][3][4]

The air-race

Doran convinced Malloska to enter an airplane in the Dole Air Race. She also convinced him 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. 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 one of the other competitors planes took part and also went missing.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Because of the attitudes of the day Doran was popular for interviews with the press.^[12] 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.”^[5] Doran wanted to be the first woman to make such an ocean flight. She had been on long overland flights with the crew before. ^[13][3][14]

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.^{[5][15][16][17][4]}

References

Further reading

• New York State Education. New York State Teachers Association. 1928. 
• John Tayman (11 May 2010). The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai. Simon and Schuster. pp. 217–. ISBN 978-1-4165-5192-8. 
• Constance Penley (1997). NASA/Trek: Popular Science and Sex in America. Verso. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-0-86091-617-8. 
• Robert F. Pauley (3 August 2009). Michigan Aircraft Manufacturers. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-1-4396-3514-8. 
• Lawrence R. Gustin (1976). Picture history of Flint: the Flint journal centennial, 1876-1976. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-7036-0. 
• Kathleen L. Brooks-Pazmany (1983). United States Women in Aviation, 1919-1929. Smithsonian Institution Press. 
• Cecil R. Roseberry (1966). The Challenging Skies: The Colorful Story of Aviation's Most Exciting Years, 1919-1939. Doubleday.