Estelle Massey Osborne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Estelle Massey Osborne
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Estelle Massey
May 3, 1901 Palestine, Texas, United States
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| Died | December 12, 1981 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | Nurse, educator |
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Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne (born May 3, 1901, died December 12, 1981) was an amazing African American nurse and teacher. She held many important jobs and worked hard to stop unfair treatment based on race in the nursing field.
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Early Life and Learning
Estelle Massey was born in Palestine, Texas in 1901. She was the eighth of eleven children. Even though her parents, Hall and Bettye Estelle Massey, did not have much schooling themselves, they made sure all their children went to college.
Estelle first got a teaching certificate from Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College. This school is now called Prairie View A&M University. But she decided to become a nurse after a scary event while she was teaching. She joined the first nursing class at St. Louis City Hospital #2. After she graduated in 1923, she became a head nurse there. This hospital later became Homer G. Phillips Hospital.
Around 1926 or 1927, Estelle moved to New York City. There, she taught at the Lincoln School of Nursing and the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing. She took summer classes at Teachers College, Columbia University. Later, she became a full-time student with help from a scholarship. This scholarship came from the Rosenwald Fund. In 1930, she earned her bachelor's degree. In 1931, she earned a master's degree in nursing education. She was the first African American to achieve this.
In 1932, she married Dr. Bedford N. Riddle.
Her Career as a Nurse and Educator
Estelle Massey Riddle became the education director at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C. This hospital is now known as Howard University Hospital. In 1934, she worked as a researcher for the Rosenwald Fund. After that, she went back to Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis. There, she became the first Black director of nursing.
In 1943, she was chosen to be a consultant for the National Nursing Council for War Service. In this role, she helped recruit student and graduate nurses. She also worked to change unfair rules in nursing schools. By the end of World War II, many good things had happened:
- 20 new nursing schools started letting Black students join.
- The Cadet Nurse Corps welcomed 2,000 Black members.
- The Army and Navy stopped banning Black nurses.
In 1945, she made history again. She became the first African American teacher at New York University's Department of Nursing Education. Later, in 1954, she became an Associate Professor of Nursing Education at the University of Maryland.
In 1972, she taught at the Central Nursing School of Lincoln Junior College in Kansas City, Missouri.
Groups She Joined
Estelle Massey Osborne was a member of many important groups. She also held leadership roles in some of them:
- President of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), from 1934 to 1939.
- Member of the American Nurses Association Board of Directors (ANA). She was the first Black person elected to this board, serving from 1948 to 1952.
- ANA delegate to the International Council of Nurses in 1949.
- Assistant Director for the National League for Nursing in 1959.
- Chair of the Local Program Committee for the National Council of Negro Women.
- Member of Key Women of Greater New York.
- Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
- Member of the National Urban League.
Awards and Special Recognition
Estelle Massey Osborne received many awards for her important work:
- The Mary Mahoney Award in 1946.
- Named Nurse of the Year by New York University in 1959.
- Given honorary life membership by the Teachers College Nursing Education Alumni Association in 1976.
- Given honorary membership by the American Academy of Nursing in 1978.
- The Estelle M. Osborne Memorial Scholarship was created in 1982 to honor her.
- Inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 1984.
- New York University started an annual Estelle Osborne Celebration in 1991.
- Given honorary life membership by the Chi Eta Phi Omicron Chapter.
Her Family Life
In 1932, Estelle Massey married Dr. Bedford N. Riddle. Later, in 1947, she married Herman Osborne. He was the public relations director for the United Mutual Life Insurance Company. Estelle did not have any children.
