Mary Ann Lippitt
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June 29, 1918
Mary Ann Lippitt | |
|---|---|
 Mary Ann Lippitt | |
| Born | Mary Ann Lippitt June 29, 1918 Beverly Farms, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 18, 2006 (aged 87) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Occupations | aviator, businesswoman, philanthropist |
Mary Ann Lippitt (June 29, 1918 – June 18, 2006) was an American pilot and philanthropist, who founded an aviation business after World War II.
Lippitt was born as Mary Ann Lippitt in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, the daughter of Senator Henry F. Lippitt and golfer Lucy Hayes Herron Lippitt. Her aunt was Helen Herron Taft, the wife of President William Howard Taft. Her uncle was Charles W. Lippitt, Governor of Rhode Island. Her paternal grandparents were Henry Lippitt, who also served as Governor of Rhode Island, and Mary Ann Balch Lippitt, for whom she was named.[1] Her brother was military officer and politician Frederick Lippitt.[2] As a young teen in 1931, she played in the national girls' lawn tennis championships.[3] During World War II, she learned to fly planes.[4]
Career
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Lippitt worked as a flying instructor in Virginia and flew for the postal service during World War II.
In 1946, Lippitt formed Lippitt Aviation Services, a charter, repair, and instructional service[5] with a fleet of four planes,[4] based at T. F. Green Airport (formerly Hillgrove Airport) in Warwick, Rhode Island.[6][7] Lippitt became as one of the first women business owners in Rhode Island.[7] In 1972, Lippitt sold her business. She flew in the International Women's Air Race in 1956, but had to make an emergency landing in Buffalo, New York, in difficult weather.[8]
In 2001, Lippitt donated $1 million to the Providence Public Library, where she had been a member of the Board of Trustees from 1985 to 1993. A branch of the library was later named for Lippitt.[9] In 2004, she and her brother were awarded the President's Medal from Brown University for their philanthropy.[10]