Anna Maxwell
Encyclopedia
Anna Caroline Maxwell was a nurse who came to be known by the nickname "the American Florence Nightingale
". Her pioneering activities were crucial to the growth of professional nursing in the U.S.
in Boston. In 1889, she moved to New York to be director of nursing at St. Luke's Hospital, and from there became superintendent of nursing at the Presbyterian Hospital of New York from 1892-1921. Maxwell was also the first director of the Presbyterian Hospital's nursing school, founded in 1892, which later became the Columbia University School of Nursing
. Eleanor Lee writes in the "History of the School of Nursing of the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, 1892-1942", that Maxwell, born in New York but of Scottish descent, was recruited for the position by Mr. John Stewart Kennedy
, a wealthy Scottish financier who was then serving as the Presbyterian Hospital's President of the Board of Trustees. In the school's early years, Mr. Kennedy donated $1 million for construction of a dormitory for the nurses.
, Rochester, New York. Upon Tod's death in 1925, he left his estate, Innis Arden, to the Presbyterian Hospital, which later sold it to the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, where it is now known as Greenwich Point.
she organized nurses for the military. Through her actions, the Army Nurse Corps was established and nurses were later given the rank of officer. She helped design the uniform for US army nurses. During World War I
, France awarded her the Medaille de l'Hygiene Publique (Medal of honor for Public Health).
In addition to her work in education and with the military, she co-wrote a textbook with Amy E. Pope entitled Practical Nursing. The first building to open at the new Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in 1928 was the home for the university's nursing school. It was named the "Anna C. Maxwell Hall" in her honor.
Maxwell Hall was razed in 1984 to make room for a new hospital building, and the university established an endowed professorship at the nursing school in Maxwell's name. Maxwell was one of the first women buried at Arlington National Cemetery
. Columbia University
awarded her an honorary Master of Arts
degree.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
". Her pioneering activities were crucial to the growth of professional nursing in the U.S.
Early career
With no formal training, Maxwell first entered the nursing field as a matron at New England Hospital in 1874. She left in 1876 and spent two years in England before enrolling at Boston City Hospital Training School for Nurses. In 1880 she was hired to start a training school at Montreal General Hospital. In 1881, she was offered the superintendency of the Training School for Nurses at Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston. In 1889, she moved to New York to be director of nursing at St. Luke's Hospital, and from there became superintendent of nursing at the Presbyterian Hospital of New York from 1892-1921. Maxwell was also the first director of the Presbyterian Hospital's nursing school, founded in 1892, which later became the Columbia University School of Nursing
Columbia University School of Nursing
-History:The School of Nursing was founded in 1892 with Anna C. Maxwell serving as its first director. In 1956, the school became the first in the country to award a master's degree in a clinical nursing specialty....
. Eleanor Lee writes in the "History of the School of Nursing of the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, 1892-1942", that Maxwell, born in New York but of Scottish descent, was recruited for the position by Mr. John Stewart Kennedy
John Stewart Kennedy
John Stewart Kennedy was an American capitalist and philanthropist.-Biography:He was born near Glasgow in Scotland, received a scant education in school, studied in his spare moments as a clerk, and at 20 was sent to America by a London iron firm, in whose branch house in Glasgow he worked for...
, a wealthy Scottish financier who was then serving as the Presbyterian Hospital's President of the Board of Trustees. In the school's early years, Mr. Kennedy donated $1 million for construction of a dormitory for the nurses.
Connection to Greenwich, Connecticut
John Stewart Kennedy's banking firm was later passed on to his nephew, J. Kennedy Tod, who continued Stewart's interest in the well-being of Miss Maxwell and the Presbyterian Hospital nurses. Eleanor Lee writes that beginning in 1901 and continuing through 1913, Mr. Tod made available Innis Arden, his estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, to the nurses as a summer retreat, and that from 1906 through 1913 the nurses had the exclusive summer use of the Innis Arden Cottage, a beachside cottage there. Maxwell was photographed with her nurses at Innis Arden Cottage in 1907 and 1911 by Dr. C. Irving Fisher, the Presbyterian Hospital's medical director and an accomplished amateur photographer. Many of Dr. Fisher's photographs of Maxwell and her nurses, including photographs of them at Innis Arden Cottage, survive in the archives of the George Eastman HouseGeorge Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
, Rochester, New York. Upon Tod's death in 1925, he left his estate, Innis Arden, to the Presbyterian Hospital, which later sold it to the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, where it is now known as Greenwich Point.
Wartime activities
In the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
she organized nurses for the military. Through her actions, the Army Nurse Corps was established and nurses were later given the rank of officer. She helped design the uniform for US army nurses. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, France awarded her the Medaille de l'Hygiene Publique (Medal of honor for Public Health).
In addition to her work in education and with the military, she co-wrote a textbook with Amy E. Pope entitled Practical Nursing. The first building to open at the new Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in 1928 was the home for the university's nursing school. It was named the "Anna C. Maxwell Hall" in her honor.
Maxwell Hall was razed in 1984 to make room for a new hospital building, and the university established an endowed professorship at the nursing school in Maxwell's name. Maxwell was one of the first women buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
awarded her an honorary Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree.