Mary Christian (politician)  Mary Taylor Christian (August 9, 1924 – November 11, 2019) was an American educator and politician. Christian was born in Hampton, Virginia and graduated from Phenix High School in Hampton in 1941. She received her bachelor's degree in education in 1955 from Hampton University, and her master's degree in speech and drama from Columbia University in 1960. Christian then received her doctorate degree from Michigan State University in 1968. She taught at Hampton University and was its dean of education, starting in 1980. Christian served on the Hampton school board. She served in the Virginia House of Delegates, from 1986 to 2003, and was a Democrat. She had three children.