15 Facts About Wu Yi-fang

Wu Yi-fang was a prominent Chinese figure who is best known for her role as president of Ginling College and as the first and one of only four women to sign the UN Charter in 1945.

Wu Yi-fang is remembered as a dedicated president and diplomat, who consistently pursued greater access to education for women in China and abroad.

Wu Yi-fang was born the youngest of three children in Wuchang city, located in the Hubei Province in China.

Wu Yi-fang left her school, and the following year, she and her family moved to her mother's hometown in Hangzhou, relying on relatives to support them.

Wu Yi-fang went to live with her uncle in Hangzhou, where she continued her studies at Hongdao Girls' School.

Wu Yi-fang moved back to Shanghai in 1915, where she received a letter from Mary A Nourse, an American professor at Ginling College, inviting her to study at the university.

Wu Yi-fang was introduced to Christianity by her classmate, Xu Yi-Zhen, and was baptized in 1918.

On June 25,1919, Wu Yi-fang was one of five graduates in the college's first graduation class and became one of the first female college students in China to obtain a bachelor's degree.

In 1922, Wu Yi-fang attended the University of Michigan to study biology.

Wu Yi-fang was the president of Ginling Women's College from 1928 to 1951.

Wu Yi-fang began her political career in 1938 when she was chosen for the People's Political Council in place of the communist delegation who declined to participate.

Wu Yi-fang is best remembered for her diplomatic contributions and presence at the San Francisco Conference in 1945.

Between 1928 and 1951, Wu Yi-fang was in office as president of the Protestant missionary Gingling Women's College.

Wu Yi-fang had hoped to hire a Chinese instructor but in facing difficulty with this she instead encouraged former students to pursue degrees in rural sociology in the United States of America.

Wu Yi-fang died on November 10,1985, due to respiratory infections and heart failure.