Nellie C. (Nellie Choy) Wong

Born in 1893, Nellie Choy Wong is remembered as a woman of remarkable firsts. Reliable biographical sources describe her as the first Chinese woman to become a pharmacist in the United States and the first Chinese woman to publish a Chinese cookbook in English.

Her best-known book, Chinese Recipes (1927), presented Chinese cooking in a practical, approachable way for English-speaking readers. It drew on the food she served through her tea shop in Peking and stands as an early bridge between Chinese culinary traditions and American readers.

Although details of her life are limited, the surviving record shows a trailblazer who opened doors in both professional and literary history. She remains notable not only for what she published, but for the cultural ground she quietly helped break.