Martha Elizabeth Rogers was born on May 12, 1914; sharing a birthday with
Florence Nightingale. She began her academic career when she entered the University of Tennessee in
Knoxville in 1931 where she remained for 2 years.
she entered nursing school at Knoxville General Hospital in September 1933. She received her nursing
diploma in 1936 and her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health Nursing form the George Peabody
College in Nashville in 1937 and then became a public health nurse in rural Michigan where she stayed
for 2 years before returning to further study. In 1945 she earned her master’s degree from Teacher’s
College Columbia University, New York.
Rogers was appointed Head of the Division of Nursing at New York
University in 1954. In about 1963 Martha edited a journal called Nursing Science. It was during that
time that Rogers was beginning to formulate ideas about the publication of her third book An
Introduction to the Theoretical Basis of Nursing (Rogers, 1970).
Rogers officially retired as Professor and Head of the Division of Nursing in 1975 after 21 years of
service. In 1979 she became Professor Emeritus and continued to have an active role in the development
of nursing and the SUHB up until the time of her death on March 13, 1994.
(Extract from Rogers Biography -
Unitary Health Care Pages)
