Florence Merriam Johnson (circa 1876 — March 22, 1954) was an American nurse and nursing administrator in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, director of the Department of Nursing for the Atlantic Division of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. She was one of the first six American recipients of the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

, awarded by the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

in 1920.

Early life

Florence Merriam Johnson was born in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

, the daughter of Charles Henry Johnson, a businessman, and Henrietta Holdane Johnson. She graduated from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

in 1897, and completed training at the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1908."Highest Honor Awarded Atlantic Division Nurse"
''The Newsletter'' (July 5, 1920): 1, 6.

Career

Johnson ran the dispensary at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

after her training. She was involved with the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor in New York. She directed the social service department at

Harlem Hospital Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887. The hosp ...

. She also taught at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

before joining the war effort. Johnson became director of the Department of Nursing, Atlantic Division, American Red Cross in 1917, during

. She was responsible for equipment and over ten thousand Army, Navy, and Red Cross nursing personnel between embarkation and debarkation. She and her assistant Christine Nuno particularly assisted sick or disabled war nurses in connecting with the supports and care they required upon demobilization. She was one of the first six American nurses to receive the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1920. A report on her in 1921 commented that she was "one of the real executives developed among the women of the country during the war." Johnson remained active with the New York chapter of the American Red Cross, as its director in 1923. She was on the board of the chapter's Nurses' Rest Home on Long Island when it opened in 1925. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Johnson ran the chapter's nurse recruiting service. "I'm a pacifist, a fighting pacifist," she commented in 1942, about her involvement in two World Wars.Talbot Lake
"She Enrolls War Nurses, As in 1917"
''Messenger-Inquirer'' (October 28, 1942): 6. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

Personal life

Johnson died in Montclair in 1954, aged 77 years."Florence M. Johnson"
''Daily News'' (March 23, 1954): 35. via

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Florence Merriam 1870s births 1954 deaths American nurses American women nurses American women in World War I People from Montclair, New Jersey Smith College alumni Florence Nightingale Medal recipients