Clara Maass

Clara Louise Maass (June 28, 1876 – August 24, 1901) was an American nurse who died as a result of volunteering for medical experiments to study yellow fever.

She then served with the Seventh U.S. Army Corps from October 1, 1898, to February 5, 1899, in Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Santiago, Cuba.

Instead, most of her nursing duties came in providing medical aid to soldiers suffering from infectious diseases like typhoid, malaria, dengue and yellow fever.

[7] She went back to serve for her country after hearing about the telegram from Major General William Gorgas had sent out asking for nurses to come to volunteer in Cuba.

[9] Yellow fever was also a problem in soldiers during the Spanish-American war, along with malaria, surpassing death on the battlefield and battle wounds.

[8] By this time, the researchers were certain that mosquitoes were the route of transmission, but lacked the scientific evidence to prove it because some volunteers who were bitten remained healthy.

[6] Enrique Chaves-Carballo gives mostly personal reasons for participation, namely, the desire to both supplement her income and to acquire immunity to the disease.

[12] Eleanor Krohn Herrmann argues that her reasons were fundamentally humanitarian, citing her knowledge of the severity of the disease and her lifelong desire to alleviate the suffering of others.

[14] The Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church honors Maass and British nurse Florence Nightingale on August 13 as a "Renewer of Society."

The award is archived in the Spanish-American War Collection at the Jacksonville (FL) Public Library at the Main Downtown branch.

During the Spanish American War, she served at the tent hospital Camp Cuba Libre in Jacksonville, FL from October 1, 1898 to February 5, 1899.