Laura Ingalls
Toronto Daily Star, July 24 1931
Laura Ingalls (1893-1967) was a distant cousin of the writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Starting in 1930, she began setting a number of aviation records. In 1934, she won the Harmon Trophy as the outstanding American aviator of that year.
When war broke out in 1939, Ms. Ingalls became a Nazi sympathizer. She was paid by the head of the Gestapo in the United States, Baron Ulrich von Glenanth, to participate in the America First Committee. This was the leading group in America at the time that was in favour of staying out of the war in Europe.
By the time that the United States entered the war in 1941, the FBI had been tracking Ms. Ingalls' movements for months. She was arrested and charged with not registering as a foreign agent. She served 20 months in prison. Later in life, she applied for a presidential pardon but was turned down.
Created November 4, 2025.