>T. Cadwallader Phloog at 23:17, 9 June 2021

2021-06-09T23:17:25Z

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{{Short description|Indian social worker and educator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = E. S. Appasamy
| image = SwarnamAppasamy1922.jpg
| alt = An Indian woman wearing a dark sari with the tail draped over her head and shoulder. She is holding flowers.
| caption = E. S. Appasamy, from a 1922 publication.
| birth_name = Elizabeth Sornam Cornelius
| birth_date = 1878
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1963
| death_place = Nangamangalam, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
| nationality = Indian
| other_names = Swarnam Appasamy, E. Sornam Appasamy
| occupation = educator, social worker
| years_active = 1920s-1940s
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}

'''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 [[Chennai|Madras]] with the [[YWCA]], 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 [[Pune|Poona]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/freepress19260430-1.2.36?ST=1&AT=search&k=Appasamy&P=2&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=appasamy&oref=article|title=Mrs. P. Appasamy's Visit; Her Life and Work|last=R. B. K.|date=30 April 1926|work=The Singapore Free Press|access-date=23 November 2019|page=7|via=NewspaperSG}}</ref> and was the fifth woman to enroll at [[Presidency College, Chennai|Presidency College]] of Madras, and earned a bachelor's degree there.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lightedtolighte00unkngoog|quote=Mrs. Paul Appasamy.|title=Lighted to Lighten the Hope of India: A Study of Conditions Among Women in India|last=Doren|first=Alice Boucher Van|date=1922|publisher=Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lightedtolighte00unkngoog/page/n201 135]-138}}</ref>

== 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]].<ref>Sita Anantha Raman, <nowiki>''</nowiki>Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Indian Matriarchs and Sisters in Service,<nowiki>''</nowiki> ''Journal of Third World Studies'' 18, no. 2 (Fall 2001): 131–48. via ProQuest</ref> She traveled all over India in her work, speaking, organizing, and raising funds.<ref name=":0" /> She traveled to the United States and Great Britain in 1914 with her brother J. J. Cornelius, giving lectures.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39529379/e_s_appasamy_1914/|title=Reception for Mrs. Appasamy|date=28 October 1914|work=The Morning News|access-date=23 November 2019|page=2|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39529464/e_s_appasamy_1914/|title=Among the Clubs|date=12 November 1914|work=The Pittsburgh Post|access-date=23 November 2019|page=4|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She founded the Vidyodaya School at [[Pallavaram]], a Christian boarding school for girls, in 1924. Her daughter Vimala was one of the school's first students.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://vidyodayaschools.in/vidyodayagovtschool/about-us.html|title=About Us|website=Vidyodaya Schools|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref>

In 1924 she represented India at the world committee meeting of the YWCA, in [[Washington, D.C.]] In 1926, she visited [[Singapore]], to speak on "Ideals of Women's Education."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19260429-1.2.99?ST=1&AT=search&k=Appasamy&QT=appasamy&oref=article|title=Mrs. P. Appasamy's Visit|date=29 April 1926|work=The Straits Times|access-date=23 November 2019|page=10|via=NewspaperSG}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/maltribune19260501-1.2.29?ST=1&AT=search&k=Appasamy&P=3&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=appasamy&oref=article|title=Indian Lady's Lecture|date=1 May 1926|work=Malaya Tribune|access-date=23 November 2019|page=6|via=NewspaperSG}}</ref> In 1928 she wrote a biography of [[Pandita Ramabai]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyIFjwEACAAJ|title=Pandita Ramabai|last=Appasamy|first=Mrs Paul|date=1928|publisher=Christian Literature Society for India|language=en}}</ref> and traveled in the United States<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39526802/swarnam_appasamy_1928/|title=Speaks at Missionary Meeting|date=14 March 1928|work=Reading Times|access-date=23 November 2019|page=16|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39529280/e_s_appasamy_1928/|title=Missionary Society Hears Talk on India at Jubilee Meeting|date=14 March 1928|work=Reading Times|access-date=23 November 2019|page=16|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> as she attended an international meeting in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]].

== 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.<ref name=":0" /> Swarnam Appasamy died in her eighties in 1963, in [[Nangamangalam]].

Economist [[J. C. Kumarappa]] was her younger brother. Bishop [[Aiyadurai Jesudasen Appasamy|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]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39528946/vimala_appasamy_1931/|title=Indian Women Making Fight for Progress|date=18 September 1931|work=Democrat and Chronicle|access-date=23 November 2019|page=28|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> was headmistress of the Vidyodaya School from 1936 to 1965,<ref name=":1" /> and wrote a songbook for the school.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ai8tgAACAAJ|title=Pujarini for the Pupils of Vidyodaya|last=Appasamy|first=Vimala|date=1952|publisher=Diocesan Press|language=en}}</ref> Daughter Jaya Appasamy became an artist, writer, college professor, and [[Fulbright Program|Fulbright Scholar]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39529046/jaya_appasamy_1963/|title=Foreign Artist at SMS Tonight|date=30 April 1963|work=Springfield Daily News|access-date=23 November 2019|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Son S. Paul Appasamy was an educator and representative of the [[YMCA]] of India and Ceylon in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39529544/paul_appasamy_1961/|title=County Y Edges Past Half Mark in Fund Drive|date=6 May 1961|work=Hartford Courant|access-date=23 November 2019|page=11|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Her granddaughter Dr. Satya Brink<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39529745/satya_appasamy_brink_1971/|title=Purdue PhD Candidate Has High Hopes for Helping Indian Women|date=6 January 1971|work=Journal and Courier|access-date=23 November 2019|page=18|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> is a sociologist and policy consultant in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/potential-ways-support-basic-skills-policies-interview-satya-brink|title=Potential ways to support basic skills policies - interview with Satya Brink|last=Sbertoli|first=Graciela|date=2019-01-15|website=EPALE - European Commission|language=en|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37024895|title=Housing older people : an international perspective|date=1998|publisher=Transaction Publishers|others=Brink, S. (Satya), International Federation on Ageing.|isbn=0-7658-0416-6|location=New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A.|oclc=37024895}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Appasamy, E. S.}}
[[Category:1878 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian educators]]
[[Category:Indian Christians]]
[[Category:People from Chennai]]

E. S. Appasamy - Revision history

>T. Cadwallader Phloog at 23:17, 9 June 2021