Women in Medical Science: Lillian Wald

LILLIAN WALD

Lillian Wald was born on March 10, 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio, into a German-Jewish family. In 1878, her family moved to Rochester, New York, where she soon attended New York Hospital’s School of Nursing. She graduated in 1891, and began medical school at the Woman’s Medical College.

Lillian_Wald_-_William_Valentine_Schevill

In 1893, Wald left medical school and began teaching nursing classes for poor families at the Hebrew Technical School for Girls. She soon began caring for residents of the Lower East Side of Manhattan as a visiting nurse, and soon after she founded the Henry Street Settlement. The organization provided health care services to New Yorkers, as well as social services and arts programs. The Henry Street Settlement still operates today, but has expanded to several buildings and locations since it was founded.

Children at the Henry Street Settlement.
The Henry Street Settlement still operates today, but has expanded to several buildings and locations since it was founded. This is the original building Wald began the settlement in.
This is the original building Wald began the settlement in.

By 1913, the Henry Street Settlement had 92 staff members. While continuing to work at the Settlement, Wald started the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, a service that brought healthcare to the homes of those in need.

Lillian Wald supported a number of worthy causes. She advocated for putting nurses in public schools, and suggested a national health insurance plan. She assisted in founding the Columbia University School of Nursing, as well as the NAACP, and helped lead the National Child Labor Committee, a group that encouraged the implementation of child labor laws.

Wald died in 1940 at the age of 73. In 1970 she was elected into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans for her humanitarian acts throughout her life.

Wald’s bust at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.
Wald’s bust at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

Further reading:

About her life:

About the Visiting Nurse Service of New York:

About the Henry Street Settlement: