History/Political Science paper by Deák, Nóra
From Kossuth’s Twin-Soul to the Nation’s Chief Nurse: the Legacy of Zsuzsanna Kossuth Meszlényi
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
The youngest sister of Governor Lajos Kossuth died in exile in New York at the age of only 37. By the time she arrived in the United States in 1853, her personal life had been full of ups and downs: lost her husband and baby son within a year of each other; spent months in prison twice; and became sick – first she had only coughs, then pneumonia and finally „pulmonary affections”. But she also had a career, quite unusual at the time: in April 1849 she was appointed the Chief Nurse of camp hospitals during the Hungarian War of Independence. Not as famous as Florence Nightingale, who is considered the founder of modern nursing, Zsuzsanna Kossuth organized 72 camp hospitals and a network of volunteer nurses, 5 years earlier than the Crimean War.
This paper is going to discuss the primary and secondary sources of her life and work, her supporters – both Hungarian exiles and American intellectuals. And finally a new image, probably used as a carte de visite (i.e. “visiting card”), will be presented, as a way of her prominence, up-to-datedness, and businesswoman-like attitude.
The year 2017 was dedicated in Hungary to her memory in particular commemorating the 200th anniversary of her birth, and to nursing as a profession in general. Her legacy should be promoted globally.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Nóra Deák is pursuing PhD studies in American Studies at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. Her research topic is the reception of the 1956 Hungarian refugees in the United States. She graduated in English and Russian languages and literatures in 1990 in Debrecen, then received a LIS MA in 1997 in Budapest. She has been working as Head of the Library at the School of English and American Studies Library, ELTE, in Budapest, since 1995. Her research was supported by a Fulbright Visiting Research Scholarship at the American Hungarian Foundation, and by Rutgers University Libraries as a Visiting Research Student during 2014 and 2015 in New Brunswick, NJ. She participate in the Mikes Kelemen Program in 2017/18.