Thomas A. O'Melia facts for kids

Thomas A. O'Melia (born February 15, 1898 – died July 25, 1973) was an American Catholic missionary. He spent most of his time working in the Republic of China and British Hong Kong. He wrote a book called First Year Cantonese. The first version came out in 1938, and a second in 1941. This book is very important for studying the Cantonese language. It shows how the language was changing from an older form to a more modern one around the 1930s.

Life and Work

Thomas O'Melia was born in Yorkshire, England, on February 15, 1898. In 1903, when he was five years old, his family moved to Philadelphia, United States.

He became a priest with the Maryknoll Fathers on June 17, 1923. After that, he was sent to Jiangmen (also known as Kongmoon) in Guangdong, which was part of the Republic of China at the time.

In 1934, he started working in Stanley, British Hong Kong. He became the Director of Cantonese Studies at a language school there. This school was also started by the Maryknoll Fathers.

During World War II, Hong Kong was captured by the Japanese. This happened after the Battle of Hong Kong. Because of this, Thomas O'Melia went back to Jiangmen in 1942.

He returned to the United States and stayed there from 1947 to 1957. Later, he went back to Stanley, British Hong Kong, where he worked from 1959 to 1967.