Mary Seacole (Mary Jane Grant) (born Kingston, Colony of Jamaica 23 November 1805 – died 14 May 1881 London, England) was a British-Jamaican nurse who became known by helping wounded soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-1856). She combined the practices of military doctors with her knowledge of the West African herbal remedies, which she learned from her mother. She nursed victims of cholera in Panama and yellow fever in Jamaica. In Crimea she opened the British Hotel and provided help for the wounded on the battlefield. In 1991 she was posthumously awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit and in 2004 voted the greatest black Briton.
The statue of Mary Seacole is in the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital. It was sculpted by Martin Jennings and unveiled in 2016. Mary Seacole’s statue is generally considered to be the first statue in Britain to recognize a named black woman.
