ot many women have involved themselves in Radio & Electronics however here is a story worth
printing – Mary Texanna Loomis (3YA) 1880-1960 the first woman to be President & Directorof a Radio Engineering College. One of the few prominent women of early radio history, born
August 18, 1880 near Goliad, Texas. She was the second child born to Alvin Isaac and Caroline(Dryer) Loomis. Though born on homestead in Texas in 1880, by 1883 her parents had returned toRochester NY and then on toBuffalo where Alvin becamepresident of a large deliveryand storage company.

NLittle is known of her earlyyears, but appears she had afairly middle-class up
bringing. She seemed wellschooled, with an earlyinterest in music andlanguage (she masteredFrench, German and Italian)
Her early years were spent in
Buffalo, NY and she later
relocated to Virginia.
During the early years ofWorld War I, Ms. Loomis
became interested in the new field of wireless telegraphy. There was a family precedent; her cousin,
Dr. Mahlon Loomis, had conducted early wireless experiments with moderate success. Dr. Loomis
may have been the first person, in 1865, to send and receive wireless signals. Ms. Loomis mastered
wireless telegraphy, becoming competent enough to be granted a license by the United States
Department of Commerce.
There is a record of a marriage between Ms. Loomis and Turner Erwin in Buffalo NY she was age
18, dated October 1898. For what reason the marriage failed we will never know. After the armisticein 1918, Ms. Loomis, thoroughly fascinated with the field now called “radio” decided to turn her
expertise into a career. Also, she wanted to do something that would honor her pioneering ancestor.
Her idea was to do this by founding a radio school. Though radio was indeed, for many years, aprofession dominated by men, Ms. Loomis around age 30 took no notice and in 1920 founded theLoomis Radio College in Washington, DC.
The Loomis Radio College quickly gained an excellent reputation. Ms. Loomis set high standards
for the school and it attracted students not only from the United States but Europe and Asia as well.
Loomis enjoyed teaching as much as she enjoyed radio itself. In an interview, she said, “Really, I am
so infatuated with my work that I delight in spending from 12 to 15 hours a day at it. My whole heartand soul are in this radio school.” Your author first knew of Mary T (3YA) by a book, by Ms
Loomis (Radio Theory and Operating) circa 1925, consisting of 848 pages. The book became thetextbook for her students and is still a highly sought after today by those who are into early radio
study and wireless history. Continued...

Some say incorrectly Mary was Doctor Loomis’ daughter, she stated the Doctor was a cousin.
At the age of 50, Mary had founded a world class institution of radio learning, which provided fully
trained graduates to the fledgling broadcast industry throughout the 1920's – As president andLecturer of the Loomis Radio School, Mary also authored a definitive book on and aptly named“Radio Theory and Operating.” She is pictured at the school operating position circa 1921.
The Loomis College of Radio Engineering located in Washington, DC 401 Ninth Street NW
operated wireless radio 3YA. By 1920 it was offering a six month course enabling the graduate toobtain a first grade commercial radio license and by January 1922 was offering a four year coursewith a degree in Radio Engineering bestowed on graduates. Ms Loomis also intended that her
students understand more than just the inner and outer workings of radio. In addition to a radio
laboratory (with equipment constructed almost entirely by Mary herself), the school maintained acomplete shop capable of teaching carpentry, drafting and basic electricity. She reasoned that manyof her graduates might find themselves at sea, or in other challenging situations and she wanted themadequately prepared. “No man,” Ms. Loomis said, at the time, “can graduate from my school until
he learns how to make any part of the apparatus. I give him a blueprint of what I want him to do andtell him to go into the shop and keep hammering away until the job is completed.”
The Loomis Radio College appears to have been in existence at least through the middle 1930's.
Research has not turned up any further information regarding the later history of the Loomis Radio
College, or of Mary Loomis herself. However, her legacy lives on in the form of her textbook,recently reprinted in electronic form. Excerpted Everything2.Com & Loomis Families of America.
It is aptly known what the “Great Depression” did to businesses and institutions. My feeling is that
it was a bad time for business at that time of our history. (Author)
In an interview given to H.O. Bishop of the Dearborn Independent in 1921, Mary was asked : “Whatsort of young men are taking up the radio profession?” “The Kind who have grit and want to getthere! Virtually all of them are ambitious and enthusiastic over the possibility of visiting every nookand corner of the world.
My students are not only enrolled from various sections of the USA and Canada but from many
foreign countries, such as Sweden, Ireland, England, Poland, Russia, Austria, Rumania and thePhilippines. One of the brightest pupils I ever had was Prince Walimuhomed of Far-away
Afghanistan. He was an extremely modest young man, keeping his real identity a secret until after
graduating. He said he had no idea of earning his living by working at radio, but just wanted to know
all about it. He does.
Mary said “You have no idea how much happiness I get out of the success of each individualgraduate.” My boys keep in touch with me from all parts of the world. Scarcely a day goes by that
I do not get some trinket or postcard from some remote section of the world. I have made thewonderful discovery that the only way for me to get happiness for myself is to make some one else
happy. I find that I am making these young men happy by teaching them every phase of the radio
business so that they can earn a comfortable living for themselves and their dependents and at thesame time, see the great big beautiful world. Author, After contacting a distant relative, Lance
Loomis......advised me Mary expired in San Francisco June 7 - 1960
Continued page threeWe desire to obtain more information about our subject and found a few things about her siblings;
Brothers and sisters list; Henry John died in infancy, Martha Etta; Grace Dryer; John Fiske; Howard
Clark 1892-1985 Niagara NY; Helen Ruth; Byron Alvin died in infancy.

The Loomis College in DC at the Strand
Building. Below Ms Mary giving atechnical class. Appeared to be attended
well during the twenties. Credit
Shorpy.com and National Archives.
W8SU 2008