Mary Lyon

Before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and
the Seneca Falls Declaration; before Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Carrie Chapman and
Alice Paul; before John Stuart Mill¿s "The Subjection of Women" and
Virgina Woolf¿s "A Room of One¿s Own"; before all these came Mary
Lyon. In 1837, by virtue of dogged determination and never
removing her sight from her goal, Mary Lyon founded Mount
Holyoke Female Seminary, the world's oldest continuing college for
women. Never seeking to draw attention to herself,
she steadfastly fought to ensure that the school would outlive
her and never become known as ¿Miss Lyon¿s School.¿ Perhaps
as a result, Mary Lyon has not drawn nearly the attention she de-
serves in histories of America, the women¿s movement or higher
education. This volume, for the first time, draws together the major
documents and writings of Mary Lyon's remarkable career.