Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com 19
July 15–August 12, 2019
FAITH, GRIEF AND PHILANTHROPY
W
illiam Rathbone VI was the eldest son of a successful
Liverpool mercantile family also known for its many chari-
table works. Rathbone's ancestors had been Quakers and his
parents continued that tradition of public service, supporting a range of
causes from slave emancipation to public education. The family's motto
was, "What ought to be done, can be done."
As a young man, Rathbone became a Unitarian, inspired by his elo-
quent brother-in-law, the Rev. John H. Thom. Rathbone believed that
affluence only increased one's obligation to serve others, describing mate-
rial wealth as "a trust for which [a man] owes an account to himself, to his
fellow-men and to God."
Rathbone's involvement with nursing began in personal tragedy. In
1858, his first wife, Lucretia, became seriously ill while pregnant with
their fifth child. Rathbone hired a private-duty nurse, Mary Robinson, to
care for her, but Lucretia died on May 29, 1859, leaving him devastated.
As he came to terms with his grief, Rathbone reflected on the comfort
Robinson had provided his wife during Lucretia's illness and considered
the good such skilled care might do for others in need.
Several months later, he decided to hire Robinson for a new
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This page, top: William Rathbone Staff College in Liverpool, with Nightingale
Memorial. Above: Queen's Nurses taking tea in the drawing room at Castle
Terrace, 1895. Facing page: William Rathbone VI (1819–1902). Photos courtesy
QNI Heritage (qniheritage.org.uk).
