Elihu Doty

Elihu Doty
Missionary and linguist
Born(1809-09-20)September 20, 1809
DiedNovember 20, 1864(1864-11-20) (aged 55)
at sea, en route to New York
Resting placeParsippany, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Alma materRutgers College
New Brunswick Theological Seminary
OccupationMissionary
Years active1836–1864
Known forAnglo Chinese Manual of the Amoy Dialect
Spouses
  • Clarissa D. Ackley
  • Eleanor Augusta Smith Doty

Elihu Doty (20 September 1809 – 30 November 1864) was an American missionary to China. He was responsible for the first textbook of Southern Min in English. Along with John Van Nest Talmage he is credited with the invention of Pe̍h-ōe-jī, the most common orthography used to write Southern Min, although some doubt remains as to the exact origins of this system.