20 Famous Nurses Who Changed The World

INFOGRAPHIC: Nurses are lauded as heroes. Let’s explore 20 famous nurses throughout history and how they helped change the world.

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20 Famous Nurses Who Changed The World

INTRO

Nursing is one of the most in-demand jobs in the world today. In fact, it is the largest workforce in the healthcare industry and the growth is showing no signs of slowing down. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a growth rate of 12% in this noble profession, which is much faster than average.

In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, nurses are lauded as heroes now more than ever. They play key roles in taking care of patients, making sure hospitals run smoothly, and going above and beyond to support patients and their families as they heal. However, nurses have always been heroes.

In this infographic, we’re going to explore 20 famous nurses throughout history and how they helped change the world.

NURSING: THEN AND NOW

While nursing is considered a prestigious profession now, it wasn’t always seen that way. In fact, most of the big changes to the field have only happened over the past couple of decades, thanks to some of the most famous nurses of today!

Then: Nurses had to wear all-white dresses, white caps, and white stockings. When uniforms became dirty, they had to be replaced.

Now: Nurses wear scrubs and non-slip shoes, which are easier to work in, cost less, and can be washed and reused.

Then: Patient records were all handwritten, including charts, notes, and orders.

Now: All patient records are kept digitally.

Then: There was no formal training for nurses, so the jobs often went to regular caretakers, monks, or nuns.

Now: There are high-tech nursing programs where nurses receive hands-on training in hospitals.

Then: The responsibilities of nurses were a lot more like the duties of a maid and they were expected to simply follow instructions.

Now: Nurses have a robust list of responsibilities actively help design plans of care for their patients, and have a larger role in treating them.

Dorothea Dix – 1802 – 1887

Civil War Superintendent of Army Nurses
Patient advocate for prisoners and the mentally ill
Helped to establish 32 hospitals across America

Dorothea Dix is one of several nurses who are considered pioneers of the profession. She didn’t even embark on her nursing career until she was 39 years old and, at that time, there was no formal training offered for nurses.

One thing that Dorothea was extremely passionate about was patient advocacy, which is a cornerstone of modern nursing. Throughout her life, she fought tirelessly to improve the living conditions of the mentally ill and those who were incarcerated. During her life, the number of hospitals dedicated to caring for mentally ill patients increased from just 13 to 123!

She is also the primary reason that women were allowed to serve as nurses in the Union Army. She volunteered herself as a nurse in 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War. At the age of 59, she was appointed as the Superintendent of Army Nurses and helped recruit the first 2,000 women who served as nurses during the war.

Mary Seacole – 1805 – 1881

Studied medicine completely on her own
Founded The British Hotel to care for soldiers during the Crimean War
Frequently visited the battlefield to care for soldiers, despite being denied the ability to serve

Mary Seacole was born to a Jamaican mother and Scottish father in the city of Kingston, Jamaica. Her mother ran a boarding house for soldiers who had gotten injured and could no longer care for themselves.

In her early years, Mary learned a lot about nursing from her mother. She was passionate about travel and used her extensive travels throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and Britain to further her knowledge of medicine. A year after the beginning of the Crimean War, Mary traveled to England to volunteer to serve as an army nurse; however, they refused.

Mary didn’t let that stop her. She paid for her own trip to the Crimea and established The British Hotel. The British Hotel was a place where sick or injured soldiers could stay and receive meals and medical care. Despite being denied the opportunity to serve, Mary often visited the battlefield to help tend to soldiers who had been wounded.

Florence Nightingale – 1820 – 1910

Considered the founder of modern nursing
Established the world’s first secular nursing school
The highest international distinction awarded to nurses is named in her honor

Florence Nightingale has one of the most incredible legacies in the history of nursing. She had always felt called to be a nurse and, due to her wealth, received some of the only training available at the time. She rose to prominence during the Crimean War, taking great care to publicize the conditions that the soldiers were subject to while they were meant to be receiving care.

According to historical accounts, Nightingale’s work to improve care and sanitation in the war hospital reduced the mortality rate from 42% to just 2%. Throughout her life, she greatly reformed the sanitation standards for all people around the world.

Most notably, she opened the first official training program for nurses, the Nightingale School for Nurses, in 1860. It is still in operation as part of the King’s College in London. Her influence can still be felt today in many ways. The Nightingale Pledge, the nurses’ alternative to the Hippocratic Oath, bears her name, there are dozens of hospitals named in her honor, and International Nurses Day takes place on her birthday.

Clara Barton – 1821 – 1912

Founder of the American Red Cross
Served as an independent nurse during the Civil War
Helped find missing soldiers and reunite them with their families after the war

Clara Barton lived a life dedicated to serving others. She first entered the professional world as a teacher when she was just 15 years old. In her 30’s, she moved from her home state of Massachusetts to Washington, DC; there, she worked as a clerk in the patent office. She didn’t even get her start in the medical field until the Civil War.

Due to her desire to be helpful, she started by delivering supplies for the Union Army. Eventually, she became an independent combat nurse. Her dedication awarded her the nickname of “the angel of the battlefield.”

Later, during the Franco-Prussian War, Clara was volunteering with a relief organization called the International Red Cross. Upon returning home, she campaigned for an American branch of the organization to be established. Thus, The American Red Cross Society was established in 1881 with Clara as the president. She worked there until 1904 and it is reported that she never took a salary.

Linda Richards – 1841 – 1930

First American nurse to graduate from a formal training program
Created the first medical records system
Established multiple nurse training programs in the US and Japan

Linda Richards is in both the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame for the work she did throughout her life. She is among the women who are credited with pioneering the modern nursing profession.

There was very little formal training for nurses in her time and nurses were treated as little more than servants. She was one of the first to enroll in the newly-established New England Hospital For Women and Children’s nurse training program in 1872. She was also the first-ever graduate.

Linda Richards made a lot of contributions to the field of nursing post-graduation. She came up with the idea of having special night-duty nurses so that regular nurses no longer had to be on call 24/7, she established the first system for keeping patient records and helped to create training programs in America and Japan.

The first-ever Japanese nurse training program was established by Richards. Also, because of her, physicians around the world began to see nurses in a new light and truly value formal training in nursing.

Mary Eliza Mahoney – 1845 – 1926

First African-American nurse to receive formal training
Co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses
Served as Director of the Howard Orphanage Asylum

Mary Mahoney was born in Boston; her parents were freed slaves who had moved from North Carolina. She always wanted to be a nurse, even though she knew that her race would be a significant barrier to entering the profession. Because of that, she took on almost any work that she could at the New England Hospital For Women and Children.

She spent a total of 15 years working as a cook, a janitor, and a nurse’s aide. Finally, when she was 33 years old, Mary was admitted to the hospital’s nursing program. Out of her class of 42 students, Mary was one of only four to successfully complete the program.

After receiving her training, Mary worked almost exclusively as a private nurse because of her race. She didn’t want the discrimination that she would undoubtedly face to impede her ability to care for her patients.

In 1896, she became the first African-American nurse to join the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada, which is now the American Nurses Association. Mary worked as a nurse for roughly 40 years before retiring at the age of 74.

Elizabeth Grace Neill – 1846 – 1926

Lobbied for the New Zealand Nurses’ Registration Act 1901, the earliest nurse registration law in the world
Created the first accredited training programs for nurses in New Zealand
Worked as a nurse and public health advocate until she was 76 years old

Elizabeth Grace Neill started her professional life with the goal of studying medicine; however, her father was adamantly against it so she chose to pursue nursing instead. She attended the nurse training programs at King’s College and Charing Cross Hospital in London.

After graduation, she served as the superintendent of a children’s hospital. After getting married, she ended up moving to Australia with her husband because he fell ill. He passed away when Elizabeth was only 40, which led her to take several jobs to make ends meet.

In 1895, she became the deputy inspector of asylums, hospitals, and licensed houses, and charitable institutions. It was in this role that she discovered that there were not any standards of nursing care that she felt that patients deserved.

She decided to begin lobbying for standards to be established and ended up helping to write one of the first nursing registration laws in the world and helping to create the programs and appoint examiners to implement this system.

Susie Taylor – 1848 – 1912

First black teacher in the state of Georgia
First African-American nurse to serve in the Civil War
Served as president of the Woman’s Relief Corps

Susie Taylor was born in 1848 as a slave in Georgia. She was able to go live free with her grandmother when she was seven and would eventually escape with her uncle in 1862.

She and her uncle went to live on St. Simons Island and she became the first black teacher to openly provide education to African-American children in Georgia. She married a black officer in the United States Colored Infantry Regiment that same year. After they wed, she began serving as a nurse in the Civil War.

Apart from serving as a nurse, Susie also spent time helping to educate soldiers on how to read and write in their downtime. She worked her entire time as a Union Army nurse without any pay.

Anna Caroline Maxwell – 1851 – 1929

Founded the Army Nurse Corps
Helped establish the American Journal of Nursing
Charter member of five nursing associations in America

Anna Caroline Maxwell studied under another one of the nurses featured in this list, Linda Richards, at the Boston City Hospital Training School for Nurses. She graduated in 1880 and played a key role in the development of the nursing profession throughout her life.

She served as a superintendent of nurses at three different hospitals before being given the opportunity to establish a new training program for nurses at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She innovated the nursing curriculum to include obstetrics, contagious diseases, and surgical nursing courses.

Anna played key roles in establishing multiple organizations throughout her lifetime, including the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, the National League for Nursing, the Nurses’ Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada, and the American Nurses Association.

During the Spanish-American War and World War I, Anna successfully petitioned for trained nurses to be sent to war hospitals. After the war, Anna went on to establish the Army Nurse Corps, awarding military rank to nurses for the first time in history.

Margaret Sanger – 1879 – 1966

Founded the birth control movement
Funded the research that resulted in the first contraceptive pill
Was a lifelong advocate for reproductive rights

Margaret Sanger was one of eleven children and spent most of her young life in poverty. She became a nurse after completing the nursing program at White Plains Hospital in 1902. She believed that controlling the size of a family was a critical part of ending the cycle of women’s poverty that she had seen throughout her life. Out of that passion, she started her life’s work of making sure birth control was accessible.

She opened the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, which landed her in jail for a short time. She was unable to get the conviction overturned, but her court case led to the landmark decision that physicians were allowed to prescribe birth control for medical reasons. She was able to open another clinic, which would eventually become the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Sanger launched multiple publications and formed two organizations that heavily lobbied for the legalization of contraceptives, and she was successful. Just six years before her death, the research that she was able to fund created the first FDA-approved oral contraceptive.

Mary Breckinridge – 1881 – 1965

Founded the Frontier Nursing Service
Created programs to provide assistance to children and pregnant and nursing women
Pioneered programs that greatly reduced mortality rates for mothers and infants

Mary Breckinridge was born in the rural city of Memphis, Tennessee, and grew up in Washington, DC. She attended nursing school in 1910 at the St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in New York City. After graduating, she married Richard Thompson.

Richard was the president of a school for women, and Mary worked as a teacher there. Shortly after starting their family, Mary’s life changed dramatically after the death of her newborn daughter and later, her son who was only four.

The tragic passing of her children inspired Mary to improve the lives of children. She and Thompson later divorced and Mary was posted in France while working with the American Red Cross. In France, she saw how midwives could help change the shape of children’s health outcomes in America.

That goal took her to four different institutions of higher education where she studied public health and midwifery. After receiving her education, she settled in Kentucky to found the Frontier Nursing Service, introducing midwives to rural America.

Christiane Reimann – 1887 – 1979

First full-time executive secretary of the International Council of Nurses
The Christiane Reimann Prize is named in her honor
Helped to establish national nursing associations around the world

There is not a lot of information about Christiane’s life, though it is known that she was born in Copenhagen. She was the first Danish nurse to receive formal training and obtain a graduate degree in nursing.

She received her degree from the Copenhagens Bispebjerg Hospital and became the executive secretary of the International Council of Nurses less than a decade after graduating. She was the first full-time executive secretary of the organization and was also the first to receive a salary.

Historical accounts say that she invested a lot of her own money into the organization and helped to create many key programs that are still in existence today. She is credited with creating the International Nursing Review.

Christiane also traveled the world to seek out national nursing associations to become part of ICN; in countries where there were no such associations, she helped to create them. She also inspired the creation of many formal training programs for nurses around the world.

Virginia Avenel Henderson – 1897 – 1996

Known as the First Lady of Nursing
Developed nursing theory
First recipient of the Christiane Reimann Prize

Virginia Avenel Henderson is widely considered to be the most famous nurse of the 20th century. She was trained as a nurse at the Army School of Nursing and she also attended the Teachers College at Columbia University. Virginia developed The Nursing Need Theory.

Initially, her goal was to define the roles of nurses in the healthcare industry and her theory has evolved to become the backbone of all formal nursing training in the world. Her contributions allowed nursing education to be categorized into four major areas, including the individual, the environment, health, and nursing.

Because of Virginia’s work in defining the role that nurses fill in healthcare overall, the entire structure of nursing education programs was reformed and became what we know it to be today. Her published works are still used in textbooks and other educational materials for nurses to this day. In 1985, she became the first nurse to receive one of the most prestigious awards in the field, the Christiane Reimann Prize.

Florence Guinness Blake – 1907 – 1983

Pioneered modern pediatric nursing
Innovated advanced clinical education in nursing
Authored multiple books still used in nursing education

Florence Guinness Blake was born in Wisconsin and entered the nursing profession after graduating from the Michael Reese Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago. She went on to teach at the school and even served as the supervisor of the hospital’s Sarah Morris Children’s Hospital before continuing her education at the Teachers College in Columbia University.

After that, she spent time in China teaching pediatric nursing. After leaving that position, she returned to school at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Florence taught at the University of Michigan, Yale University, and the University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, she established the first advanced program in pediatric nursing. Throughout her career, she developed advanced clinical education programs, wrote multiple books on pediatric nursing, and worked as a consultant for multiple childcare organizations nationwide.

She is regarded as a pioneer in pediatric health and has been awarded many times over for her nursing education innovations.

Ruby Bradley – 1907 – 2002

One of the most highly decorated women in military history
Spent two years as a prisoner of war
Assisted in 230 surgeries and delivered over a dozen children in captivity

Colonel Ruby Bradley was born and raised in West Virginia. She entered the Army Nurse Corps in 1934 and served as a surgical nurse. It is unclear where she received her training as a nurse but throughout her time in the service, she went above and beyond to help patients.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ruby was captured by the Japanese army. They relocated her to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila in the year 1943.

Ruby often starved herself and smuggled food to the many hungry children in the camp and did her best to provide medical help to other soldiers and prisoners that were housed there. Due to her starvation, she lost weight and would use this as a way to smuggle surgical equipment into the camp.

While in captivity, she helped with 230 operations to help prisoners and delivered a total of 13 babies. She spent three years in captivity. After her liberation in 1945, she served almost two more decades in the Army. She has received a total of 34 awards, both nationally and internationally, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Ann A. Bernatitus – 1912 – 2003

First American to receive the Legion of Merit
She was the only Navy nurse on her team
She was the only nurse who evaded capture on her ship

Ann Bernatitus was born in Pennsylvania in 1912 and received her nursing education from the Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital Training School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate Hospital. She completed her education in 1935 and joined the Nurse Navy Corps just a year later.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor led to evacuations, Ann was left as the only Navy nurse on her team. She treated soldiers from America, Japan, and the Philippines who were wounded from the Japanese siege that lasted from December 1941 to April 1942.

Due to her heroism during the siege, Ann became the first American to receive the Legion of Merit in 1942. She served in several other Navy hospitals and aboard vessels over the next several years. She became a Commander in 1950 and wouldn’t retire for almost another decade.

A monument in her honor stands in her hometown and her Legion of Merit award is proudly displayed at the Smithsonian.

Moyra Allen – 1921 – 1996

Co-created the McGill Model of Nursing
Founded what would become the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research
Co-founded the World Health Organization Committee that accredits nursing schools

Moyra Allen was born in Toronto and was one of the first Canadian nurses to earn a doctorate. The majority of her work as a nurse was dedicated to distinguishing the role of nurses from all other providers in the industry and that led her to develop the McGill Model of Nursing, which is what she is most known for.

In her model, the primary goal of nursing is to educate patients in such a way that it enhances their treatment process and health outcomes. This is a key model that is still used in nursing today. It helped to expand the way that nursing theory is understood and how treatment plans are orchestrated.

Moyra was always known as a creative and innovative woman when it came to nursing. She also founded the United Nurses of Montreal and was a critical player in developing the standards that are used for the accreditation of nursing programs in America, as well as many other countries around the world.

Hazel Johnson-Brown – 1927 – 2011

First black female general in the United States Military
Founded the Center for Health Policy
First Army Nurse Corps Chief to hold a PhD

Hazel Johnson-Brown was one of seven children and she grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania. She was an exceptional student but the nurse training program in her hometown refused to take her because of her race. She didn’t let that stop her, though. She went on to enroll in the nurse training program at the Harlem Hospital’s School of Nursing, from which she graduated in 1950.

She took a job in the emergency ward at the hospital until she entered the Army Nurse Corps in 1955. For over a decade, she served at several hospitals around the world as an army nurse. She also continued to pursue her education, going on to receive a Ph.D. in 1978.

Hazel taught as a professor of health care and health administration at The University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and George Mason University. Her dedication to her career finally paid off in 1979 when President Carter nominated her as Chief of the Army Nurse Corps.

After being confirmed by the Senate, she became the first black female general in military history. Even after leaving the position, she continued to be an academic leader in nursing for more than 20 years.

Diane Carlson Evans – 1946 – Present

Founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation
Advocated for the construction of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial
Served as head nurse for her unit in an extremely volatile warzone

Diane Carlson Evans is the first famous nurse we’ve featured that is still alive today. She was born in 1946 in Minnesota and was raised on a dairy farm. She received her nursing education in Minneapolis and joined the Army Nurse Corps when she graduated.

Just two years after entering the service, Diane was sent to Vietnam during a time of serious conflict in the Vietnam War. She served as the head nurse at a medical unit near the Cambodian border for one year. Diane recounts this time as being incredibly violent and traumatic, something that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

When she returned home, the hostility that she faced deepened her emotional turmoil. After retiring from the military in 1972, Diane was able to cope with the memories and the unfriendly environment she returned to.

She found a new sense of pride for the brave service of her and her fellow nurses and dedicated that to creating Vietnam’s Women’s Memorial Foundation in 1984. The foundation was able to create a special monument just for the nurses who served in the war, as well as creating several other opportunities for female veterans.

Claire Bertschinger – 1953 – Present

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Inspired the creation of Band-Aid and Live Aid
Recipient of over a dozen awards, including the Florence Nightingale Medal

Claire Bertschinger was born in 1953 in Essex. She is dyslexic and was unable to read or write for a little more than the first decade of her life but she was still able to complete formal nurse training when she was young as well as eventually graduate with a Master’s degree in 1997. She served as a medic in Operation Drake and then decided to join the International Committee of the Red Cross.

She has worked as a field nurse in over a dozen conflict zones and served as a training officer at two different ICRC locations. She has received multiple honorary degrees and distinctions throughout her life. Most notably, Queen Elizabeth II honored Claire as Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2010 due to her service in both nursing and international humanitarian aid.

While in Ethiopia, serving as a nurse and running a feeding center, Claire was featured in a BBC News piece that highlighted her work. Upon seeing what she was doing, Bob Geldof was inspired to create Band-Aid and Live Aid, which are the biggest relief programs ever created.