Amabel Scharff Roberts (1891-1918) was an American nurse who was the first nurse from the U.S. to die in France during World War I.[1]
Amabel Scharff Roberts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 16, 1891 Madison, New Jersey |
| Died | January 17, 1918 (aged 26) Étretat, France |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Vassar College |
| Occupation | Nurse |
Roberts was born in Madison, New Jersey.[2] She graduated from Vassar College in 1913.[3] Roberts then went on to work and study at Columbia University's Presbyterian Hospital, completing her coursework there in 1916.[4][3]
In 1917, Roberts traveled to Europe to join the war efforts as a reserve nurse under George Emerson Brewer's medical team from Presbyterian, along with 64 other nurses and 22 doctors.[2] This position was, officially, part of the American Red Cross.[5] Roberts was stationed at the American Base Hospital Number 2 at Étretat, on the coast of Normandy, working as head of one of the wards for wounded soldiers.[1][6] The hospital was responsible for caring for American and British casualties of the war.
Roberts died in Étretat on January 17, 1918, from blood poisoning contracted in the course of her work on the surgery ward.[4] Roberts died just one day before the American nurse Helen Fairchild, stationed at Base Hospital No. 10.[7]
The VFW post #3662 in Madison was named in her honor on December 18, 1937.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Potter, Jane (2013). "American Women's First World War Nursing Memoirs". In Fell, Alison S. (ed.). First World War nursing : new perspectives. Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-1134626922.
- ^ a b "Announcement of the death of Amabel Scharff Roberts". Newspapers.com. The Madison Eagle at Newspapers.com. January 25, 1918. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Vassar Quarterly 1 May 1918 — Amabel Scharff Roberts: In Memoriam". Vassar Newspaper Archives. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Amabel Scharff Roberts". The Columbia University War Memorial. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ "Photo Finish". Columbia Medicine Magazine. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ "Over There: The Presbyterian Base Hospital in France, 1917-1918". Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ "USA Nurses (1) - REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE AMERICAN NURSES (U.S.A.N.C.) SERVING WITH THE B.E.F. IN FRANCE". Scarlet Finders. NATIONAL ARCHIVES WO222/2134. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Post Honors First Woman to Die Overseas in WWI". digitaledition.qwinc.com. No. March 2011. VFW Magazine. p. 52. Retrieved 4 January 2019.