Famous Nurses in History
Throughout history, nurses have assisted in innovating the healthcare system and saved lives during their careers.
While Florence Nightingale is perhaps the most famous medical worker in the role, many professionals made a difference and advanced the position. Celebrate the nursing field by learning about some of the most influential people in the industry’s past.
DOROTHEA DIX
Dorothea Lynde Dix served as an advocate to bring a medical spotlight to mental health. According to the American Public Health Association, Dix is credited with playing an instrumental role in the founding or expansion of more than 30 hospitals to treat the mentally ill.
In addition to this essential crusade, she was also a crucial critic against cruel and neglectful practices toward emotionally sick patients like caging, incarceration and harmful physical restraint. She was a leading figure in international movements that challenged ideas that those with mental issues could not obtain treatment to cure their problems.
CLARA BARTON
Barton worked as a nurse during the Civil War, where she served as a provider for soldiers who became wounded during a battle. After the war, she used her expertise and
knowledge in the medical field to form the American Red Cross in 1881.
The organization was formed when she was at the age of 59, and she would continue to lead the cause for the next 23 years. Barton showcased outstanding features of helping and serving others that eventually led to new paths of volunteerism.
MARY EZRA MAHONEY
In 1879, Mahoney became the first African American in the United States to graduate from nursing school and begin a professional career in the field. The National Women’s History Museum reports that she focused on private care where she supplied specific needs for individual clients rather than working in the public field.
Mahoney joined the Nurses Associated Alumna of the U.S. and Canada in 1896 before co-founding the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses the following year. At the organization’s maiden convention, she was voted to be the national chaplain and received a lifetime membership.