Safiye Elbi

Safiye (Hüseyin) Elbi (29 June 1882 – 6 July 1964) was a Turkish nurse, generally referred to as the first professional nurse of Turkey.

She was a professional nurse who contributed to the development of modern nursing in Turkey. She worked as a volunteer nurse during the Balkan Wars and World War I. After the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey, she took charge in many charities and associations. She advocated for women to participate in social life. She worked as an administrator and teacher at the Red Crescent Nursing School, which was established in Istanbul in 1925.

Life Elbi was born on 29 June 1882 in Istanbul. Her father was Ferik Amet Besim Pasha, chief engineer of the Tersane-i Âmire, one of the pioneers of mechanical engineering in Turkey. Her mother was Hannah Jane Milward Castell. The daughter of Englishman Andrew Castell, who converted to Islam and took the name Hasan Bey after a career in the navy and the Tersane-i Âmire. Following her marriage, Hannah Jane adopted the name Firdevs as a Muslim.

She studied at British and German girls' schools. She married a Marine Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Bey; She had two children, Fatma Nahide and Tarık.

During World War I, she worked as a volunteer nurse at Hilal-i Ahmer Galata and Cağaloğlu Hospitals. Elbi specialized in common tetanus and gangrene diseases. German and Austrian nurses worked on the ship. Safiye Hanım served as the only Turkish nurse and head nurse on the hospital ship.

At the end of the war, she was sent to Europe with Münire İsmail Hanım by the Red Crescent Society to examine the situation of Turkish prisoners and students in various European countries, to determine their needs and to carry out the necessary studies. Elbi travelled to Europe via the Korkovoda Ferry, which was carrying German and Austrian captives who were repatriated to their homeland. She gave conferences in the cities of Geneva, Paris, New York and Chicago on nursing and anti-drinking. Participated in talks about women.

In 1933, she took part in the establishment of the Turkish Nurses Association and served as the society's president.

She died in Gureba Hospital on 6 July 1964.