Louise Conring

Louise Martine Laurette Conring (1 March 1824 – 1 April 1891) was a Danish superintendent, hospital inspector, deaconess and nurse. Charged by Princess Louise to investigate the Deaconess Institutes in Germany, Sweden and France with a view to creating one in Denmark, Conring was the first Danish woman to be trained in nursing, ultimately heading the Deaconess Institute in Copenhagen from 1863.

Biography Born on 1 March 1824 at Rungsted in Hørsholm Municipality, Conring was the daughter of August Georg Carl Conring and his wife Hanne Christiane Braem. She was a fragile child who spent her childhood winters mainly in bed at her parents' home in Rendsburg, then in Danish Schleswig, where her father was a customs official, and the summers on her grandparents' farm at Rungsted, north of Copenhagen. Owing to her poor health, Conring seldom went to school but was taught by her mother and other tutors at home, together with her sister. In 1865, new premises were acquired and in 1873 today's Deaconess Institute building was opened. Conring adopted a strict, old-fashioned approach in running the institute, becoming especially difficult in handling male patients. Two of her male colleagues left in protest but she maintained the respect of her female colleagues and toned down her approach on Queen Louise's advice.

Louise Conring died in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen on 1 April 1891. Succeeded by Sophie Zahrtmann, she left behind her a thriving institution which enjoyed a network of support throughout the country.