Mary Lyon

Mary Mason Lyon (; February 28, 1797 – March 5, 1849) was an American pioneer in women's education. She advised on the establishment of Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts, (Wheaton College) in 1834. She then established Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (Mount Holyoke College) in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1837 and served as its first president (or "principal") for 12 years. Lyon's vision fused intellectual challenge and moral purpose. She valued socioeconomic diversity and endeavored to make the seminary affordable for students of modest means.