Finding aid for the USC Library of Aeronautical History Women's International Association of Aeronautics records
0055
Finding aid prepared by Claude Zachary
USC Libraries Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu
2010 August
Title: USC Library of Aeronautical History Women's International Association of Aeronautics records
Collection number: 0055
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
10.0 Linear feet
10 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1920-1958
Abstract: Biographies of early woman aviators, correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, scrapbooks, instructional materials; copies
of Aerogram, the WIAA publication; personal archives of Elizabeth L. McQueen (Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, d.1958), founder
of W.I.A.A. in 1929 and the Women's Aeronautic Association of California, and organizer of the Women's Air Derby ("Powder
Puff Derby").
creator:
McQueen, Elizabeth L.
creator:
Women's International Association of Aeronautics.
Biographical note
Elizabeth Lippincott (September 26, 1878-December 24, 1958) was born in Pennington, New Jersey. She graduated from Pennington
Seminary in 1898, and in March 1900 married Ulysses Grant McQueen (1864-1937), a wealthy New York City inventor and manufacturer.
The couple lived in New York City until 1928, then moved to Beverly Hills, California. During World War I, Mrs. McQueen performed
war relief work in Palestine under Field Marshal Allenby. In 1919 she founded the Jerusalem News, the first English-language
newspaper in Jerusalem. She became interested in aviation when in 1920 she witnessed seven airplanes in military actions in
the desert near Aden. In September 1928, Mrs. McQueen organized the Women's Aeronautic Association of California, which was
soon followed by similar organizations in New York, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Canada, England,
France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. On May 23, 1929, she organized the Women's International Association of Aeronautics
(WIAA), which became the principal focus of her activities for the rest of her life. Mrs. McQueen served as "founder and honorary
president" of the WIAA; subsequent presidents included prominent British aviator Lady Mary Heath (1929-1932), British reporter
Lady Grace Hay Drummond-Hay (1932-1940), educator Dr. Mary Sinclair Crawford (1940-1947), actress Mary Pickford (1947-1949),
airplane manufacturing executive Olive Ann Beech (1949-1954), and pioneer aviator Matilde Moisant (1954-). A junior division
of the WIAA was organized in 1931; members under 7 years old were called "tailwinds", those from 7 through 20 years old "zoomers".
In 1929, Mrs. McQueen and Lady Heath appealed to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in Paris to have women's air records
recognized, an appeal that was ultimately successful. At the same time, in order to arouse greater interest in women's flying,
Mrs. McQueen conceived the idea and was one of the principal organizers of the first Women's Air Derby from Santa Monica,
California, to the 1929 National Air Races in Cleveland. 20 female aviators took part in this forerunner to the Powder Puff
Derby. In 1932 and 1933, Mrs. McQueen published a column, "Happy Contacts", concerning women and aviation, in the monthly
magazine Speed; she also published several articles in The Air Pilot in 1933. In July 1933, Mrs. McQueen, who in 1929 had
been deputized as the first aerial policewoman in the world by Police Chief Charles Blair of Beverly Hills, organized the
Women's Aerial Police Association, whose members were deputized to assist the civil authorities in times of emergency. From
March 1940 to February 1941, she also undertook a Goodwill Tour to Mexico and Central and South America. From approximately
1942 to approximately 1947, Mrs. McQueen resided in the Mission Inn, in Riverside, California, the location of the International
Shrine of Aviators and the Famous Fliers' Wall. By the late 1940s, she had returned to her house on Doheny Drive in Beverly
Hills. Ulysses Grant McQueen died in April 1937, and about 1955 Mrs. McQueen married Dr. Irving Reed Bancroft, a prominent
retired physician. She died at her home in Hermosa Beach, California at the age of 80; her ashes are interred in the Portal
of the Folded Wing in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Cemetery, in North Hollywood. Although she had devoted her life to furthering
the role of women in aviation, she had never obtained a pilot's license.
(Adapted from the Finding aid for the Elizabeth Lippincott McQueen papers. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont
University Consortium)
Related Archival Materials
Elizabeth Lippincott McQueen papers, Collection 525, Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont University Consortium
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], USC Library of Aeronautical History Women's International Association of Aeronautics records,
Collection no. 0055, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Acquisition
Donated by Clementina deForest Griffin, 1965.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of biographies of early woman aviators, correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, scrapbooks, instructional
materials; copies of Aerogram, the WIAA publication; and the personal archives of Elizabeth L. McQueen (Mrs. Ulysses Grant
McQueen, d.1958), founder of WIAA in 1929 and the Women's Aeronautic Association of California, and organizer of the Women's
Air Derby ("Powder Puff Derby").
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Batten, Jean, 1909-1982 -- Archives
Beech, Olive Ann, 1904-1993 -- Archives
Bowen, Pansy -- Archives
Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937 -- Archives
Hay-Drummond-Hay, Grace Marguerite, Lady, 1895-1946 -- Archives
Jacobs-Bond, Carrie, 1862-1946 -- Archives
McQueen, Elizabeth L. -- Archives
Quimby, Harriet, 1875-1912 -- Archives
Rasche, Thea, 1899-1971 -- Archives
Thaden, Louise McPhetridge, 1905-1979 -- Archives
Trout, Evelyn, 1906-2003 -- Archives
Women's International Association of Aeronautics. -- Archives
Aeronautics--History--Archival resources
Books
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sheet music
Women air pilots--History--Archival resources
Women in aeronautics--History--Archival resources
Box 1, Folder 1
Egypt and Palestine
1919 -
Box 1, Folder 9
Famous Signatures
undated
Box 1, Folder 10
Famous Signatures
undated
Box 1, Folder 11
Famous Signatures
undated
Box 1, Folder 16
Southern California Aviation Breakfast Club
undated
Box 1, Folder 18
Scrapbook Materials (Moisant, 1946-48)
undated
Box 1, Folder 19
Holiday Greetings to EM
undated
Box 1, Folder 17
Pan American League
1938-1943
Box 2, Folder 3
Radio talks, speeches
undated
Box 2, Folder 6
Speeches, articles
undated
Box 2, Folder 7
Women's Aerial Police
undated
Box 2, Folder 11
Copies of articles in folders
undated
Box 2, Folder 12
Highlights of Pioneer University cruise
undated
Box 2, Folder 14
Testimonials and Honors
undated
Box 2, Folder 15
Founder's Messages
1934-1948
Box 2, Folder 5
South America/Goodwill Tour
1930
Box 3, Folder 1
General letters
1929-1939
Box 3, Folder 2
General letters
1940-1949
Box 3, Folder 3
General letters
1950-1959
Box 3, Folder 4
Meeting minutes
1930-1939
Box 3, Folder 5
Meeting minutes, business correspondence
1940-1949
Box 3, Folder 6
Meeting minutes, business correspondence
1940-1949
Box 3, Folder 7
Meeting minutes, business correspondence
1950-1958
Box 3, Folder 8
Membership lists and application forms
1929-1959
Box 3, Folder 9
Constitution and Bylaws
1948-1949
Box 3, Folder 10
Mrs. Northrup correspondence
1940s
Box 3, Folder 11
Clementine DeForest Griffin
1949-1965
Box 3, Folder 12
Elizabeth McQueen correspondence
1945-1948
Box 3, Folder 14
Skylines bulletin
1951-1958
Box 3, Folder 15
Meetings-NY branch
undated
Box 3, Folder 16
Clippings--newspaper articles
undated
Box 3, Folder 16
Founders Day, Mary Pickford
1948-1949
Box 4, Folder 2
Aeronautical Organizations
undated
Aeronautical Literary Contest
Box 4, Folder 4
Contest winner lists
1936-1953
Box 4, Folder 5
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1958
Box 4, Folder 6
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1957
Box 4, Folder 7
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1956
Box 4, Folder 8
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1955
Box 4, Folder 9
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1954
Box 4, Folder 10
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1953
Box 4, Folder 11
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1952
Box 4, Folder 12
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1951
Box 4, Folder 13
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1950
Box 4, Folder 14
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1949
Box 4, Folder 15
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1948
Box 4, Folder 16
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
1947
Box 4, Folder 17
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
undated
Box 4, Folder 18
Submissions, correspondence, publicity
undated
Box 4, Folder 20
From Border to Border (song, 1958)
undated
Box 5, Folder 1
War experiences Egypt and Palestine
1920
Box 5, Folder 5
Biographical sketches of women pilots
undated
Box 5, Folder 6
Biographical sketches of women pilots
undated
Box 5, Folder 7
World women flyers, No I + Rickenbacker
undated
Box 5, Folder 10
Jack Freeman--Men in aviation
1934
Box 5, Folder 11
General Italo Balbo
undated
Box 5, Folder 13
Famous flyers wall--Riverside
undated
Box 5, Folder 19
Carrie Jacobs Bond
undated
Box 5, Folder 23
Grace Hay Drummond-Hay
undated
Box 5, Folder 24
Grace Hay Drummond-Hay
undated
Box 5, Folder 25
Grace Hay Drummond-Hay
undated
Box 7, Folder 1
Clippings
1911 June-October
Box 8, Folder 1
McQueen Aviation Scrapbook
1934-1938
Box 8, Folder 2
McQueen Aviation Scrapbook
1938
Box 9, Folder 1
WIAA Scrapbook Vol. 1
1949
Box 9, Folder 1
WIAA Scrapbook Vol. 2
1950
Box 10, Folder 1
1st Women's Air Derby
1929
Box 6, Folder 2
Speed Magazine
1932 July-December
Box 6, Folder 6
National Aeronautics
1956
Box 6, Folder 9
Instructor Manuals and clippings
undated
