Eleanor Herrmann Nursing History Collection

Eleanor Krohn Herrmann was born in New York City on 1 February 1935, and grew up in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It was there, she once said, that she became aware of the importance of history as she rode her bicycle along the path that American revolutionary Daniel Shays traveled to participate in the Boston Tea Party.

Her father, Martin Krohn, died in a farming accident when she was 14, but her mother, Ellen (Polson) Krohn, influenced her and her siblings to value education, a principle she passed along throughout her lifetime to her students.

Herrmann received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Adelphi University in New York, her master’s from the University of Colorado, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in education from the Teachers College of Columbia University.

Herrmann was a Professor of Nursing at UConn from 1987 until her retirement in 1997. She continued to remain active with the School of Nursing, including her role as co-curator of the history collection that was compiled largely by her friend Josephine Dolan, until her death in July 2012.

In addition to UConn, Herrmann taught at Yale, Cornell, Syracuse, and the universities of Wyoming and Colorado. She also held a deep commitment to social justice, and had ongoing relationships with nursing education and professional development groups in several countries in Central and South America.

Herrmann was a charter member of the American Association for the History of Nursing, was one of its past presidents, and served on editorial boards and review panels for several professional journals. She also was a member of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society; a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Cheshire Historical Society; Women’s Auxiliary, Silver City Detachment Marine Corps League; and the Standardbred Retirement Foundation.

A video celebration of her life is available online.