author
1831–1912
A lively reformer and memoirist, she helped shape early nursing education in New York and later wrote vividly about a long, active life. Her work also reflected a strong interest in women’s welfare and practical public service.
by Elizabeth Christophers Kimball Hobson, Charlotte Everett Hopkins
Elizabeth Christophers Kimball Hobson (1831–1912) was an American writer and social reformer. Reliable library records identify her as the author of A Report Concerning the Colored Women of the South (1896), and contemporary reference material describes her as a co-founder of the Bellevue Training School for Nurses in New York, an important early training program for professional nursing.
She was remembered for practical, hands-on civic work, especially efforts connected to women’s welfare and organized nursing instruction. Sources about her also credit her with supporting reforms that broadened training in first aid and with a sustained interest in improving opportunities for working women.
Hobson also left behind a more personal record in Recollections of a Happy Life, a memoir prepared from her manuscript and printed after her death in 1914. That combination of public action and private reflection makes her an appealing figure for readers interested in reform, memoir, and the everyday energy of nineteenth-century American life.