Lydia Mary Fay

Lydia Mary Fay
Born	1804 Bennington, Vermont, U.S.
Died	October 5, 1878 Chefoo (Yantai), China
Resting place	Foreigners cemetery of Chefoo
Occupation	missionary educator writer translator
Language	English
Nationality	American

Lydia Mary Fay (1804 - October 5, 1878) was a 19th-century American missionary, educator, writer, and translator. She was the first unmarried woman from North America to be a missionary to China,^[1] and one of the band of women that laid broad and deep foundations in the early days of missionary work in the Chinese empire.

Affiliated with the Protestant Episcopal Church,^[1] Fay entered the missionary field from Albany, New York, sailing for China, November 8, 1850, the first single woman sent there by the missionary society. She established in her own house in Shanghai a boarding school for boys, and from this she educated teachers and preachers to carry on the work. Known as "Lady Fay" to her pupils, her efforts developed from this very small beginning into the Doane Hall and Theological School.^[2][1]

For nineteen months, Fay worked on revising the Syllabic Dictionary manuscript. She contributed to magazines and papers, and had exceptional translation skills from Chinese language into English.