Wald, Lillian D. (1867-1940), founded the first visiting nurse program in the United States that was not affiliated with a religious group. Her contacts with the poor in New York City in the depression of 1892-1893 inspired her to found the Nurses’ Settlement, later known as the Henry Street Settlement. It became a model for public-school nursing programs in the United States. She also worked with the founder of the first “ungraded” class for children with intellectual disabilities.
Wald and social reformer Florence Kelley were the first to suggest to President Theodore Roosevelt the idea of a national children’s bureau to study the needs of children. Congress set up the Children’s Bureau as an agency of the U.S. government in 1912. In addition, Wald was active in the American Union Against Militarism, and her views were highly respected by President Woodrow Wilson and others who worked for peace. Lillian Wald was born in Cincinnati on March 10, 1867. She died on Sept. 1, 1940.
