Seacole, Mary Grant (1805-1881), was a Jamaican-born nurse who aided British troops during the Crimean War (1853-1856). In 1855, Seacole traveled alone to Crimea, a peninsula extending from what is now southern Ukraine, to assist in the care of British soldiers wounded in battle. Today, many people recognize her as an important figure in the history of nursing. Her work is often compared to that of the British nurse Florence Nightingale, who is regarded as the founder of the nursing profession.
Mary Jane Grant was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Her father was a Scottish Army officer, and her mother was of African descent. The young woman had little formal education, but she learned nursing and health-care skills from her mother, a local healer skilled in folk medicine. In 1826, she married Edward Seacole. Their marriage was cut short, however, by Edward’s early death. She then spent many years traveling and providing care throughout areas of the Caribbean affected by outbreaks of cholera and yellow fever.
In 1854, Seacole traveled to England after hearing that nurses were being recruited to assist in the war in Crimea. However, because of her race, she was denied the opportunity to join any nursing corps sent to the region. Seacole then traveled alone to Crimea using her own funds. She arrived in 1855 but was not allowed to volunteer at Florence Nightingale’s hospital in Balaklava. Instead, she used her own money to establish a nursing hospice, called the British Hotel, at Balaklava. There, she provided food and care for wounded and sick soldiers. She also visited the front lines of the battlefield, providing medicine and meals to British soldiers.
Seacole returned to England at the end of the war in 1856 deeply in debt. However, British newspapers published accounts of her heroic work during the war and helped raise funds to pay her debts. Seacole also wrote an autobiography, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857). The book was a great success, and she soon became a celebrated figure. England, France, Russia, and Turkey awarded her medals and honors for her nursing during the war. In later years, she continued to use her own funds to support and promote nursing in England and Jamaica. She died in London on May 14, 1881.
See also Crimean War; Nightingale, Florence.
