Thora Melsted (1823 – 1919) was an Icelandic educator. She was a pioneer in the education of women in Iceland.Bogi Th. Melsted, Merkir Íslendingar-Nýr flokkur. Sjötta bindi, Jón Guðnason bjó til prentunar. (Reykjavík: Bókafellsútgáfan hf. 1967) She was born in Denmark to the Icelandic official Grímur Jónsson (1785-1849) and the Dane Birgitte Cecile Breum (1792–1853). She was raised in Iceland but lived in Denmark in 1833–1846, where she was given a good education. In 1851–53, she managed a small school for girls in Reykjavík, which was the first school for girls in Iceland. In 1859 she married the Icelandic official and politician

Páll Melsteð Páll Melsteð may refer to: * Páll Melsteð (amtmann) (1791–1861), Icelandic official and politician *Páll Melsteð (historian) Páll Melsteð (13 November 1812 - 9 February 1910) was an Icelandic historian, official, editor and member of th ...

. She was active in the struggle to establish a permanent school for girls in Iceland. She organized a campaign and collected money for the purpose. In 1874, she achieved her ambition with the establishment of the

Kvennaskólinn í Reykjavík Reykjavik Women's Gymnasium ( Icelandic: Kvennaskólinn í Reykjavík) was the first secondary school for women in Iceland. It was begun in 1874 by Þóra Melsteð and Páll Melsteð, as a private school. For the first four years the school was ...

(whose first principal she became), and was followed by the establishment by other schools for girls around Iceland. She was the principal of the school in 1874–1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melsted 1823 births 1919 deaths 19th-century Icelandic people 19th-century Icelandic women 19th-century educators Icelandic women's rights activists 19th-century women educators