Elizabeth Sornam Cornelius Appasamy (1878–1963), known professionally as Mrs. Paul Appasamy or E. S. Appasamy, was an Indian social worker and educator, working in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

with the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, and as national secretary of the National Missionary Society in India in the 1920s. She founded the Vidyodaya School for girls in 1924.

Early life

Elizabeth Sornam (or Swarnam) Cornelius was born in 1878, one of the ten children of Solomon Duraisamy Cornelius and Esther Rajanayagam. Her parents were Christians; her father was employed in the Public Works Department. She attended Epiphany High School in

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, and was the fifth woman to enroll at Presidency College of Madras, and earned a bachelor's degree there.

Career

Appasamy was the All-India Woman's Secretary for the National Missionary Society, and vice-president of the Madras YWCA. Her colleagues in Madras included politician Mona Hensman and physician

Muthulakshmi Reddy Muthulakshmi Reddy (also spelled Reddi in some British Indian sources; 30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) was an Indian medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan award recipient. Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legisl ...

. She traveled all over India in her work, speaking, organizing, and raising funds. She traveled to the United States and Great Britain in 1914 with her brother J.J. Cornelius, giving lectures. She founded the Vidyodaya School at

Pallavaram Pallavaram (originally Pallavapuram) is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. It lies in the district of Chengalpattu, situated within the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Tamil Nadu state. Formerly a Municipality under Alandur taluk, it was ...

, a Christian boarding school for girls, in 1924. Her daughter Vimala was one of the school's first students. In 1924 she represented India at the world committee meeting of the YWCA, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 1926, she visited

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, to speak on "Ideals of Women's Education." In 1928 she wrote a biography of

Pandita Ramabai Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati ( Marathi: ; 23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian social reformer and Christian missionary. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of '' Pandita'' as a Sanskrit scholar and '' Sarasvati'' after being ...

, and traveled in the United States as she attended an international meeting in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Personal life and family

Swarnam Cornelius married lawyer and judge Paul Appasamy. They had four children: Mary Vimala, John Bhasker, Esther Jaya, and Shanth Paul. Swarnam Appasamy died in her eighties in 1963, in Nangamangalam. Economist J. C. Kumarappa was her younger brother. Bishop A. J. Appasamy, a prominent Indian Christian theologian, was her brother-in-law. Several of her children became educators. Her daughter Vimala Appasamy graduated from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

, was headmistress of the Vidyodaya School from 1936 to 1965, and wrote a songbook for the school. Daughter Jaya Appasamy became an artist, writer, college professor, and

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

. Son S. Paul Appasamy was an educator and representative of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

of India and Ceylon in the 1960s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appasamy, E. S. 1878 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educators Indian Christians People from Chennai