 About the Hall of Fame
Inductees
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1996 InducteeAnna Caroline Maxwell
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One of America's early nurse leaders, Anna Caroline Maxwell validated the effectiveness of
appropriately trained nurses during the Spanish-American War and thus influenced establishment
of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901. From 1892 to 1921, Maxwell served as the first
superintendent of nurses at the Presbyterian Hospital Training School for Nurses in New York
City where she devoted her career to elevating educational standards for nursing.
Born in Bristol, New York, on March 14, 1851, Maxwell moved to Canada with her parents
during the early years of her childhood. Returning to the United States in 1874, she settled in
Boston and entered the Boston City Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1878. Maxwell
studied nursing under the supervision of Linda Richards and completed the requirements for a
diploma in 1880. Following employment as superintendent of nurses in Montreal, Boston, and
New York, Maxwell accepted the challenge of organizing the new training school for nurses at
Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Beginning with a two-year course of classroom
instruction and clinical practice in medical/surgical nursing and obstetrics, Maxwell soon added
contagious disease nursing to the curriculum. By the turn of the century, the course of study was
expanded to three years and by 1917, affiliation with Teachers College provided the impetus for
establishment of a five-year program leading to a bachelor of science degree from Columbia
University and a nursing diploma from Presbyterian Hospital.
An expert organizer and administrator, Maxwell was a charter member of the American
Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses (1893), forerunner of the National
League for Nursing, and the Nurses' Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada
(1897), forerunner of the American Nurses Association. She was also a charter member of the
International Council of Nurses (1899) and the American Red Cross Nursing Service (1899), and
participated in founding the American Journal of Nursing and the Isabel Hampton Robb
Scholarship Fund. During the Spanish-American War, Maxwell petitioned the surgeon general
for permission to bring trained women nurses to military hospitals to care for the sick and
wounded. Sent to a field hospital in Chicamauga, Georgia, Maxwell and her nurses found
inadequate sanitation, rampant disease, and a high death rate. With skill and determination, they
restored order, improved conditions, and reversed an appalling situation. During World War I,
Maxwell again played a central role in preparing nurses for active military service. Following the
war, she worked to achieve military rank for nurses in the armed forces.
Recognized by colleagues as one of nursing's pioneers, Maxwell was dedicated to improved
nursing education, standardizing nursing procedures, and increasing public acceptance of nursing
as a profession. She was the recipient of a medal from the French government for her
contributions to nursing throughout the world, and was buried will full military honors in
Arlington National Cemetery upon her death in 1929.
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