Mary Katherine Campbell

Mary Katherine Campbell

Beauty pageant titleholder
Born	Mary Katherine Campbell December 18, 1905(1905-12-18) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Died	June 7, 1990(1990-06-07)
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	130 lb (59 kg)
Measurements	35-26-36 in
Hair color	Auburn
Eye color	Hazel
Title(s)	Miss Columbus, Ohio Miss America 1922 Miss America 1923
Major competition(s)	Miss America (winner-twice)
Spouse	Frank Townley

Mary Katherine Campbell (December 18, 1905–June 7, 1990) was the only person to win the Miss America pageant twice. Campbell was Miss America 1922 and Miss America 1923, and she was also First Runner Up at the 1924 Miss America Pageant. Competing as "Miss Columbus" (interchangeable with Miss Ohio) in all three pageants, Campbell was only sixteen years old at the time of her first crowning in 1922. After the 1924 pageant, in which the judge's scores revealed that Campbell had almost won the title a third time, the Miss America Organization changed the rules so that "a contestant may only win the Miss America title once."

She became "Miss Columbus" over a field of 170 other women, and proceeded to Atlantic City where the Inter-City competition had grown to include 57 women from around the country.^[1] Campbell entered her second successful attempt in the beauty pageant as Miss America competing in Atlantic City against a field of 56 other women.^[2][3]

It would be the last time in Miss America history where "professional" (model, Dorothy Knapp) and "amateur" (West Philadelphia's Gladys Grenemeyer) winners would be judged as finalists against the "Inter-City" champion (Mary Katherine Campbell) and place as runners-up to the Miss America title.

Campbell had graduated with a diploma from East High School in February 1922, and entered Ohio State University as an Art Major immediately after her selection as Miss America.^[4] She also attended Ohio Wesleyan.^[5]

Through her father, Campbell had Native American ancestry specific to the Muscogee Creek people as well as the Cree, though she was not aware of it until later in her life.^[6]

References

1. ^ "Beauty Crown Won by Miss Columbus". New York Times. 1922-09-08. 
2. ^ "The Jolly Rivalry of the Cities for the Crown of "Miss America"". Palm Beach Post. 1923-09-02. p. 3. 
3. ^ "Miss Columbus Again Captures Beauty Title". Norwalk Hour. 1923-09-07. p. 16. 
4. ^ "New Beauty Queen Ideal". New York Times. 1922-09-10. 
5. ^ "Miss America 1921-1927". Archived from the original on 2004-02-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20040205004549/http://www.geocities.com/missusamagich/america21-27.html. Retrieved 2006-06-18. 
6. ^ "Final Dawes Rolls". United States Government. 1907-05-12. 

External links

• Find-A-Grave biography

Preceded by --

Miss Columbus 1922

Succeeded by Elizabeth Mambourg

Persondata
Name	Campbell, Mary Katherine
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1905-12-18
Place of birth	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Date of death	1990-06-07
Place of death