With an emphasis on the qualities that have fostered strong nursing leadership, this book provides a unique perspective on the lives and achievements of the most revered nurses throughout history. It is comprised of biographies of many of nursing’s most important activist agents of change, with a focus on those characteristics that enabled them to accomplish their goals and implement changes that improved nursing, health, healthcare, and society. These biographies examine the evolution of nursing and society around the globe and underscore the resourcefulness and political savvy these nurses used to meet the increasingly complex needs of society. Using Kouzes and Posner’s five practices of exemplary leadership as a framework, the biographies demonstrate how these historic nurse leaders used these processes to achieve their goals.