Esther Voorhees Hasson was the first Superintendent of the

United States Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-190 ...

. Prior to and after serving in the

, she served as an Army nurse.

Early life

Esther Voorhees Hasson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 20 September 1867. She graduated from the Connecticut Training School for Nurses, in New Haven, in 1897.

Nurse Corps career

In June 1898, during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Hasson became a contract nurse with the U.S. Army, subsequently serving on the hospital ship Relief and in the Philippines. She left the Army in 1901. In 1905–07, she served as a nurse in Panama. When the Navy Nurse Corps was established in 1908, Hasson became its first Superintendent, taking the oath of office on 18 August 1908. Under her leadership, 19 additional nurses were recruited and trained for Naval service during 1908. The Nurse Corps had grown to 85 trained nurses by the time Hasson resigned as Superintendent in January 1911. In June 1917, Esther Hasson became a U.S. Army Reserve Nurse. Shortly after, she lost an arm. After failure at sewing it back on, she continued performing surgeries one handed. On March 8, 1942, Nurse Esther V. Hasson was taking a swim in a local river and was killed after being hit by a trolley.

Contributions as Superintendent

As the first superintendent of the

Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by United States Congress, Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-fem ...

, Hasson had the task of recruiting qualified nurses and setting up training for the incoming nurses, as well as administering the Corps once it was established. The first nineteen nurses, in addition to Hasson, carefully chosen from 33 invited candidates, came to be known as the " Sacred Twenty". Hasson worked with Surgeon General

Presley Marion Rixey Rear Admiral Presley Marion Rixey (14 July 1852, Culpeper, Virginia – 17 June 1928) was a Surgeon General of the United States Navy (1902–10) and personal physician to Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Biography The older br ...

to establish an orderly, disciplined corps with a respectable reputation and excellent benefits, if somewhat limited pay.

External links

Nurses and the U.S. Navy – Overview and Special Image Selection
Naval History & Heritage Command

Naval History & Heritage Command

This online exhibit reflects a special exhibit that was sponsored by The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and was formerly on display at the Women's Memorial, located at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasson, Esther 1867 births 1942 deaths American women in World War I United States Army Nurse Corps officers United States Navy personnel of World War I Female wartime nurses United States Navy Nurse Corps officers Women in the United States Army Female United States Navy officers Female nurses in World War I American nursing administrators

Early life

Nurse Corps career

Contributions as Superintendent

Further reading

External links