Mary Jane McLeod (Bethune) was born on July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina on a Rice Farm. Her parents were both former slaves and she was the 15th of 17 children.  At the Age of eleven, Mary began attending a school for African American children run by the Presbyterian Church. 

Mary was an excellent student and worked very hard at mastering her studies. One of her teachers recommended her for a scholarship at Scotia Seminary in North Carolina. Mary's hard work there earned her another scholarship to The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where she was the only African American in attendance. She graduated in 1895. 

In 1898 she married Albertus Bethune and they moved to Savannah, Georgia. Their first son, Albert was born in 1899.

After graduation, Mary taught at several southern mission schools until 1903.  Mary was intensely determined that African American girls should have the opportunities for learning that she had enjoyed.  She founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida to help provide these opportunities. She was an instructor and the headmaster of this school for over 19 years.

The school merged with the Cookman Institute in 1923 becoming Bethune-Cookman College. Mary was the president of the college until 1942.  She also founded the National Council for Negro Women in 1935 and directed the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration until 1944. She was the first African American Woman to become the head of a Federal Agency.

Mary was appointed as a special assistant to the Secretary of War during World War II to help in the selection of candidates for the Women's Army Corps. She also served as a special advisor on minority affairs to President Roosevelt. 

Mary worked closely with both President and Mrs. Roosevelt and was a trusted advisor. In 1945 she assisted Eleanor Roosevelt as a special consultant on interracial affairs at the San Francisco Conference of the United Nations Organization.

When Mary first started her school in Daytona Beach, Florida, the enrollment was 5 students. Today Bethune-Cookman College has an enrollment of around 2000 students. 

Mary McLeod Bethune died on May 18, 1955 in Daytona Beach, Florida.