Mary Lyon (1797-1849) was the founder of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and a pioneer in women's education.

Contributed by Marilyn E. Weigold, Professor of History, Pace University, New York, New York

Born on February 28, 1797, in Buckland, Massachusetts; died on March 5, 1849, at South Hadley, Massachusetts; fourth daughter and sixth child of Aaron and Jemima Shephard Lyon.

In the midst of the panic of 1837, an economic depression which left many Americans jobless, homeless, and helpless, Mary Lyon opened a new school to educate young women. Though the institution, known as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, was not filled to capacity, she would not be discouraged. She was determined to offer women the kind of education available only--until then--in men's colleges.

A descendent of hardy New England pioneers, Lyon saw examples of courage on both sides of her family. After completing his studies at Cambridge University, her maternal ancestor, the Reverend Henry...