1797-1849 A schoolteacher from Massachusetts, an American pioneer, a remarkable woman who founded the worldwide model of higher education for women--Mount Holyoke College.
Who was Mary Lyon? Why is she an important figure in women's history? What makes her life inspiring? What did she accomplish against obstacles which would have discouraged the less determined? Why do historians call her achievement "an astonishing feat?" How did she transform, forever, the course of women's education?
This is your opportunity to discover Mary Lyon. You will learn about her childhood and education, and her career as a teacher and an educational leader. You will learn about the first year of Mount Holyoke's existence--its students and their activities, the building in which they lived and studied, and Mary Lyon's influential role in science education.
As you read the chapters of her story, picture yourself living and going to school in Mary Lyon's day; imagine supporting yourself at age 13 and traveling hundreds of miles by stagecoach over dirt roads; think what it would be like to have people scorn your ideas, to have no chance to go to college or to become a doctor or lawyer. Mary Lyon's accomplishments will then become all the more courageous and daring.
Fun facts
Notable women educators of Mary Lyon’s era
Emma Willard, founder and principal of Troy Female Seminary (now called Emma Willard School), which opened in 1821. Mary Lyon met with her in 1833, while on a three-and-a-half-month trip that covered more than 2,000 miles and included her first train ride. During Lyon's travels, she visited her family, toured schools, spoke with educators, and saw such natural wonders as the Catskill Mountains and Niagara Falls, major tourist attractions of the day.
Catharine Beecher, founder and principal of Hartford Female Seminary, 1824, and of schools in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. She was the author of many works on domestic science, religion, and health. Mary Lyon met with her in 1836.
Schools associated with Mary Lyon
Sanderson Academy--student, 1817 and 1820; teacher, 1821-23. When she was 20, Mary Lyon enrolled at the new coeducational academy in Ashfield, a town adjacent to Buckland. "Here," she would later write, "I was principally educated; here my mental energies first awakened." Her quick intelligence and thirst for learning impressed her teachers and fellow students. All were amazed by her ability to survive on only four hours of sleep a night, and to memorize an entire Latin grammar in one weekend.
Byfield Female Seminary--student, 1821. Mary Lyon attended Byfield, north of Boston, for six months. Joseph Emerson, the Seminary principal and a graduate of Harvard College, believed strongly in the intellectual ability of women, and consequently, his school had higher academic standards than did most female seminaries. He became Lyon's mentor. A star pupil at the Seminary was Zilpah Grant, who soon became Emerson's assistant. She and Lyon became close friends, and later, colleagues.
Adams Female Academy, Londonderry, New Hampshire--teacher, 1824-27. When Zilpah Grant was named the principal of the new academy, she invited Mary Lyon to join her. The school was open for a seven-month summer term. Lyon's salary was $5 a week, plus board.
Winter School for Girls--principal and teacher, 1824-30. When Adams closed for the winter, Lyon returned to her native hilltowns, at the request of local families, to run her own school. Designed to prepare young women for elementary teaching, the school was an immediate success, enrolling 100 students by 1830.
Ipswich Female Seminary--assistant principal and teacher, 1828-34. After a dispute with the owners of Adams Academy, Zilpah Grant founded her own school in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Although reluctant to close her winter school, Mary Lyon accepted Grant's offer of a year-round position in 1830. At Ipswich, Lyon and Grant became widely known for their progressive ideas about women's education and their ability to train teachers.
Wheaton Female Seminary--consultant and visiting instructor, 1834. In addition to offering advice, Mary Lyon suggested the school's first principal--Eunice Caldwell, a graduate of Ipswich Seminary. Wheaton Seminary is now Wheaton College.
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, later Mount Holyoke College--founder and first principal, 1837-1849.
Examples of schools associated with early Mount Holyoke alums
Nineteenth century alumnae founded and/or taught at:
- Punahou School/Oahu College, Honolulu, Hawaii, founded in 1841
- Fiske Seminary, Orumiyeh, Persia (now Iran), 1843
- Lake Erie College, Painesville, Ohio, 1847
- Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois, 1849
- Cherokee National Female Seminary, Tahlequa, Oklahoma, 1851
- Western College for Women, Oxford, Ohio, 1853
- American Girls' Seminary, Marsovan, Turkey, 1863
- Beach Institute (for African Americans), Savannah, Georgia, after the Civil War
- Clarke School for the Deaf, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1867
- Mount Holyoke of Kurdistan, Bitlis, Turkey, 1868
- Bridgman Memorial School, Shanghai, China, 1870s
- Mount Hermon Seminary (for African American girls), Clinton, Mississippi, 1873
- Huguenot College and Seminary, Wellington, South Africa, 1874
- Dana Hall, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 1881
Mount Holyoke science facts and figures
A partial list of accomplishments by Mount Holyoke alumnae and teacher scientists:
- First person to collect weather data in the U.S.
- First woman specialist in aerospace medicine
- Co-discoverer of the antibiotic nystatin, first of the "wonder drugs"
- Inventor of Apgar Score, used worldwide (and probably on you!) to measure health of newborn babies in the delivery room
- First physician to identify cystic fibrosis
- First woman president of the:
- American Chemical Society
- Royal Canadian Institute
- American Paleontological Society
- American Association of Physical Anthropology
- First woman given a research post at Woods Hole Biological Laboratory
- Pioneer in the study of the role of the thymus gland in the immune system
- Pioneer in development of nuclear medicine
- One of the first women to earn a Ph.D. in science from Yale University
- Primary anesthesiologist at New England's first heart transplant
- Pioneer researcher in forensic medicine
- Developer of the concept of "territoriality" to explain birds' nesting behavior
- Researcher at McMurdo Station in Antarctica
- Developer of theory that an ancient map of the world, including the New World, is contained on coins of ancient Carthage and Phoenicia
- High school teacher who encouraged astronaut Sally Ride to pursue a career in science.
Twenty-five percent of Mount Holyoke students major in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), per 2017 data.
Among all baccalaureate colleges, Mount Holyoke produces the greatest number of women who go on to earn STEM doctorates. (Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Earned Doctorates, 1966 – 2015.)
Accomplishments of Mount Holyoke alums
- Executive producer, Sesame Street
- Deputy chief of staff, Obama administration
- First person in U.S. to produce Valentine cards for sale
- First woman to serve in a U.S. President's Cabinet and the creator of Social Security, minimum wage, and workmen's compensation
- Designer of Macintosh and Windows computer icons
- First woman elected a state governor on her own (without succeeding her husband)
- First African American woman to attain tenure at Harvard Medical School
- First woman movie producer to win an Oscar for best picture
- Winner of a Pulitzer Prize in playwriting
- U.S. Congresswoman from the State of New York
- U.S. Olympic gold medalist
- Editor at the Boston Globe
- Producer on NBC's Today Show
- First woman to run a major New England bank
- U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon
- Executive editor, Time magazine
- First woman rabbi in the State of Connecticut
- First woman mayor of Brisbane, Australia
- U.S. District Court judge for State of New Jersey
- Emmy Award-winning TV news producer
- First woman to skipper a boat in Pan-American Games
- First woman railroad superintendent
- MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" winner