ROWLANDS, Jane Helen (Helen o Fôn). Menai Bridge, Anglesey 3.4.1891 — Karimganj 12.2.1955. British (Welsh) Missionary in Assam. Daughter of Captain Jabez and Martha Rowlands, grew up in very religious home. Graduated 1911 in French from University College of North Wales in Bangor, also briefly studies at Cambridge (Newnham College). Worked as teacher of French in Wales, 1912-15. After short training in Edinburgh she was missionary of the Presbyterian Church of Wales in Sylhet from 1916 until her death, learned Bengali and taught at girls’ school. M.A. in “Indian vernaculars” 1926 Calcutta. On furlough in Wales she decided to make doctorate at Sorbonne. Ph.D. 1930 Paris. She declined the offered university career and became teacher of English at Karimganj College in Assam, then part of Sylhet, but after partition of Cachar dt. in India.

Publications: Diss. La femme Bengalie dans la littérature des Moyen Age. 6+241 p. P. 1930.

– The quest: scenes from the life of Chandra Lela. n.d.

Sources: N. Bhattacharjee in https://northeastreview.wordpress.com/2014/10/04/jane-helen-rowlands/ with photo; G.A. Jones, Dict. of Welsh Biogr. 2001 (online) with references to Cymric sources; Wikipedia.