For Women’s History Month, we’re featuring 10 famous nurses who changed the course of nursing by breaking racial barriers, reshaping the healthcare landscape, and founding organizations that impacted the world. Some of these nurses are known globally, while others worked on a local basis.
Today, more than 90% of nurses are women. We salute all the hard-working, compassionate, and visionary nurses shaping the future of healthcare.
Hazel W. Johnson-Brown
Hazel W. Johnson-Brown (1927-2011) was denied entry to the local nursing school because of her race. Instead, she attended nursing school in New York and enlisted in the army, where she earned multiple promotions. She became director of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing, served as the chief nurse of the army hospital in Seoul, and received a promotion to brigadier general, and commanded the Army Nurse Corps. As the first Black woman to accomplish these feats, Johnson-Brown holds a place among famous nurses in history.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) left behind her wealthy lifestyle to care for soldiers during the Crimean War. Her passion, commitment, and intellectual brilliance empowered her to change the history of nursing. She founded the first nursing school in the world, advocated tirelessly for healthcare reform, and much more. Her belief in healthcare as a right inspired the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, truly shaping the history of nursing and healthcare in the U.K. and Europe.
Sojourner Truth
A famous activist, Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was also an informally trained nurse who, in addition to fighting for abolition and equity, advocate for formal nurse training and education. Her 1844 “Ain’t I a Woman” speech demanding equality for women and African Americans made her one of the most famous nurses in history.
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) worked as a visiting nurse in New York City’s tenements when it was illegal to prescribe or mail information about birth control. Sanger advocated for access to birth control information and legal contraception, even when she faced criminal prosecution. She founded the American Birth Control League, which became Planned Parenthood, in 1921. Sanger was also instrumental in promoting the development of “the pill,” the first oral contraceptive.
Clara Barton
Clara Barton (1821-1912) had no formal training as a nurse but is arguably the most famous nurse in U.S. history. When wounded Civil War soldiers flooded makeshift hospitals, Barton started to care for the injured. She then joined the army to care for wounded soldiers at the war front. After the war, Barton went to Europe to recuperate, where she learned about the International Red Cross. Upon returning home, she founded the American Red Cross.
Mary Eliza Mahoney
Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926) was the first African American nurse in history to complete official nurse training. In 1879, she changed the history of nursing by graduating from the rigorous New England Hospital for Women and Children’s Nursing School, where she previously worked as a janitor and cook. She was one of the first Black members of what became the American Nurses Association and co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN).
Reference: https://nursejournal.org
