Welthy Honsinger Fisher

Welthy Honsinger Fisher (September 18, 1879 – December 16, 1980) was the American founder of World Education and World Literacy Canada. She was married to Frederick Bohn Fisher, a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, missionary, author, and official in Methodist missionary and men's movements. She was an intellectual, and activist requested by her friend Mahatma Gandhi to begin Literacy House outside of Lucknow, India, at the age of 73.

Birth and family Welthy Blakesley Honsinger was born in Rome, New York, on September 18, 1879.

Education and early work After graduating from Syracuse University in 1900, Honsinger became a teacher at Rosebud College, a one-room school in Haverstraw, New York, where she was in charge of 15 students. In 1906, Honsinger become the headmistress of the Baldwin Memorial School in Nanchang. The Fishers were well-acquainted with and respected by Gandhi and other prominent leaders of the Indian Independence movement. Following her husband's death in 1938, she wrote her husband's biography On March 18, 1980, the government of India issued a Welthy Honsinger Fisher commemorative postage stamp. She is the only American to be so honored.

In the media Welthy's work in India was highlighted in the 1966 Time magazine article "Education Abroad: India's Literacy Lady".