LILLIAN WALD OF AMERICA

Nurse and Social Activist Lillian Wald held the First Meeting of the National Negro Conference earlier form of the NAACP, in the United Charities Building, New York, the United States of America on 31 May 1909.  

Lillian D. Wald (born on 10 March 1867–died on 01 September 1940) was a pioneering American nurse, social reformer, and humanitarian who transformed public health nursing in the United States. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a wealthy German-Jewish family, Wald trained at the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses, graduating in 1891. Her exposure to the dire living conditions of immigrant communities on New York City’s Lower East Side in 1893 inspired her to dedicate her life to improving healthcare access for the underserved. Wald was spurred to create health care for the poor after encountering a woman in need of health care after birth. Her doctor left her as she could not afford to pay. Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement in 1893 with Mary Brewster, establishing the first public health nursing program in the U.S. She coined the term “public health nurse” to describe nurses who addressed both medical and social issues within communities, emphasizing hygiene, disease prevention, and holistic care. The settlement provided healthcare, education, and social services, initially focusing on women and children, and grew to include 92 nurses by 1913, making over 2 lakh home visits annually by 1916. Her innovations included initiating the first public school nursing program in 1902, with nurse Lina Rogers becoming the first school nurse in the U.S., a model later adopted nationwide. Wald also partnered with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1909 to provide nursing services for policyholders, setting a precedent for corporate healthcare programs. She was instrumental in founding the National Organization for Public Health Nursing in 1912, serving as its first president, and helped establish Columbia University’s School of Nursing. Beyond nursing, Wald was a fierce advocate for social justice, supporting women’s suffrage, racial equality, labor rights, and child welfare. She co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, helped establish the U.S. Children’s Bureau, and was active in the Women’s Trade Union League. Her anti-militarist stance led her to protest U.S. entry into World War I and join peace organizations like the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Wald’s leadership during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, through the Nurses’ Emergency Council, highlighted the critical role of community-based nursing in crises. Her work earned her recognition, including being named one of the 12 greatest living women by the New York Times in 1922 and induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993. Her books, The House on Henry Street (1915) and Windows on Henry Street (1934) document her efforts to address health inequities and social reform. Wald died in 1940 from Cerebral Hemorrhage, leaving a legacy of accessible healthcare and social equity that continues through the Henry Street Settlement and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, which became a separate entity in 1944.