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| Mary Lyon | |
 Portrait of Mary Lyon |
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| 1st President of Mount Holyoke College (Founder and Principal) | |
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| Term | 1837 – 1849 |
| Predecessor | Mary Lyon |
| Successor | Mary C. Whitman |
| Born | 1797 |
| Died | 1849 |
| Profession | Professor |
Mary Mason Lyon (28 February 1797 - 5 March 1849) established the Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts, (now Wheaton College and the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, (now Mount Holyoke College), Massachusetts and was a pioneer in women's education in America. She served as its first president (referred to at that time as "principal" [1]). She was featured on one of the United States Postal Service's Great Americans Series stamps.
In 1834, Eliza Wheaton Strong, the daughter and favorite child of Judge Laban Wheaton, died at the age of thirty-nine. Eliza Baylies Chapin Wheaton, the Judge's daughter-in-law, persuaded him to memorialize his daughter by founding a female seminary. [1]
The family called upon Ms. Lyon, a noted women's educator, for assistance in establishing the seminary [2]. Miss Lyon created the first curriculum with the goal that it be equal in quality to those of men's colleges. She also provided the first principal, Eunice Caldwell. Wheaton Female Seminary opened in Norton, Massachusetts on 22 April 1835, with 50 students and three teachers.
Mary Lyon and Eunice Caldwell left Wheaton to open Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837 (now Mount Holyoke College)[3].
Contents |
References
- Edward Hitchcock wrote a book on her life, (New York, 1860)
- M. O. Nutting, Historical Sketch of Mount Holyoke Seminary, (Washington, 1876)
- B. B. Gilchrist, The Life of Mary Lyon, (Boston, 1910)
- Adams and Foster, Heroines of Modern Progress, (New York, 1913)
Honors
- On February 28, 1987, a stamp featuring Mary Lyon was issued in honor of The Sesquicentennial (Mount Holyoke's 150th anniversary) [2].
- USS Lyon (AP-71), a World War II transport ship in the United States Navy, and SS Mary Lyon, a Liberty ship, were both named for her.
- Mary Lyon Hall at Western College for Women (now merged with Miami University) is named for her.
- Mary Lyon Hall at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst is named for her.
- Mary Lyon Hall at Plymouth State University is named for her.
See also
- Presidents of Mount Holyoke College mary lyon school in chicago ill
External links
- Biography at Mount Holyoke
- A Biography from the Mount Holyoke Website
- Another Biography
- Eliza Wheaton Strong
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New Position |
President of Mount Holyoke College (Founder and Principal) 1837-1849 |
Succeeded by Mary C. Whitman |
