Biographical Sketch

Martha Rogers was born on May 12, 1914 in Dallas, Texas. She was the eldest of four children born to Bruce Taylor Rogers, who worked in insurance, and Lucy Mulholland Keener Rogers.

Martha Rogers graduated from the Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1936. She received her bachelor of science degree in public health nursing from the George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee in 1937. She received her master’s degree in nursing supervision in 1945, from Teachers College of Columbia University. In 1952 she received her master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. In 1954, she received a doctor of science degree from Johns Hopkins.^[1]

Her career spanned the nation as she progressed. She began her nursing career as a Public Health Nurse. She worked in Clare, Michigan at the Children’s Fund from 1937-1039, held a variety of positions at the Visiting Nurse Association of Hartford, Connecticut from 1940-1945, in Phoenix, Arizona she served as the Executive Director of the Visiting Nurse Service from 1945-1951. She took the position of head of the division of nursing at New York University in 1954. She remained in this position until her retirement in 1975. She served as consultant to the U.S. surgeon general and the U.S. Air Force from 1969-1973.

Rogers served as editor of the Journal of Nursing Science from 1963-1965. Through the Journal, she focused her attentions on improving and expanding nursing education, developing the scientific basis of nursing practice through professional education, and differentiating between professional and technical careers in nursing.

Rogers is best known as a nursing scholar, whose written works on nursing theory are notable among the works of the second half of the 20th century. Her book, An Introduction to the Theoretical Basis of Nursing (1970), marked the beginning of nursing’s search for a theoretical base.^[2] In this book, she developed the theory of the Science of Unitary Human Beings, also known as Rogerian Science, drawing on knowledge from a variety of disciplines in the sciences, arts and humanities.^[3] This holistic view focused on treating the whole patient, and not just the illness. She is also the author of numerous articles on nursing theory and education. Her writings are still considered some of the most important in her field, and she spoke before nurses and other medical professionals all over the world. Her original theories led to numerous studies evaluating patients beyond the traditional scope of medical treatment.^[4]

Martha Rogers expounded on the need to forego what she saw as anti-education archaisms in nursing education. She encouraged nursing educators to focus their attention on the professionalization of nursing through the formulation and implementation of baccalaureate and higher degree education.

Rogers was honored numerous times throughout her career. Among the many awards bestowed on her were the Award and Citation for “Inspiring Leadership in the Field of Intergroup Relations,” presented by the Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Omicron Chapter in 1960, the Award and Citation “In recognition of your outstanding contribution to nursing,” by the New York University Division of Nurse Education faculty and alumni in 1965 and the Sigma Theta Tau International’s 1981 Mary Tolle Wright Award for Leadership, and the New York State Nurses Association Nursing Education Award in 1985. She was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 1996, two years after her death.

Martha Rogers’s spirit lives on in the form of the Society of Rogerian Scholars, an international organization named for Rogers committed to the advancement of her world view of nursing. They publish a journal called Visions, The Journal of Rogerian Nursing Science.

Martha Rogers died at the age of 79 in Phoenix, Arizona in 1994.

Scope and Contents Notes

This very small collection contains some of the personal and professional papers and memorabilia of Martha Rogers spanning her life, 1914-1994. It includes such professional papers as publications of which Martha Rogers was involved in the research and creation, fliers and notes relating to speeches and presentations performed throughout the world, and many awards and certificates received by Rogers throughout her career.

The collection also includes a few items which provide insight into the personal life of Martha Rogers. Among these are a copy of a poem Rogers wrote at age 16, memorabilia from traveling in Rome for an ICN conference in 1956, her bible and a floral patterned handbag.

Finally, the collection includes historical items, such as the transcript from an oral history interview Rogers gave in 1993, not long before her death, items from her funeral and awards bestowed upon her after her death.

Series Descriptions

Series 1: Subject Files, 1931-1996
This very small series contains the paper materials of the collection. It includes publications which Martha Rogers had a hand in researching or writing, or which she used for her own research, awards and citations granted to Rogers throughout her life, as well as some bestowed upon her after her death, a small amount of correspondence, two photographs of Rogers, and a few personal items, such as a copy of a poem Rogers wrote at age 16 and memorabilia from a trip to Rome in 1956.
Series 2: Artifacts, 1936-1987
This series is primarily made up of the awards Rogers received throughout her life. It also includes her bible, a floral patterned handbag, a paperweight and a photo album containing photos of Rogers receiving an honorary doctorate from Mercy College. It also includes two portraits created in honor of Martha Rogers- a stained glass portrait and a hologram with light.