Agnes Karll

Agnes Karll (1868 to 1927) was a German nurse and nursing reformer who worked to win independence and public recognition for the new nursing profession. Born at Embsen, she first trained as a teacher, then began nursing training at the Clementine House in Hanover in 1887 and worked in university and private clinics, including a few months in the United States in 1894. In 1903 she founded and became first president of the German Nurses Association, which later took her name, and in 1907 she set up a systematic three-year nurses training programme with a final examination and state recognition. From 1909 to 1912 she served as the third president of the International Council of Nurses. She died in Berlin, and nursing schools, clinics and an institute for nursing research in Germany bear her name.