Hulda Margaret Lyttle Hall, 2019. Image courtesy of MHCF.

Historical marker for Hulda Margaret Lyttle, 2019. Image courtesy of MHCF.

Hulda Margaret Lyttle Hall, 2019. Image courtesy of MHCF.

Fisk University and Meharry Medical College

Stop 14 of 21

Hulda Margaret Lyttle

Hulda Margaret Lyttle was born in Nashville in 1889. She was a member of the first class of George W. Hubbard Hospital’s Training School for Nurses, which later became the School of Nursing at Meharry Medical College. After graduating in 1913, Lyttle continued her education in New York before returning to Nashville as the head nurse at Hubbard Hospital. She quickly rose through the ranks, serving first as director of the nursing school and then as superintendent of the hospital, beginning in 1923. Pervasive racism and sexism in the medical field make her accomplishments all the more impressive—particularly as a hospital administrator.

Lyttle had a lasting impact on the nursing program at Meharry and was a trailblazer for African-American nurses. When the Training School for Nurses became the accredited School of Nursing in 1938, she was named chair because of her excellent track record as an educator and administrator. She retired in 1943 after thirty years at Hubbard and Meharry, and went on to lead other nursing programs around the county. Three years after her retirement, the dormitory for student nurses was named Hulda Margaret Lyttle Hall. Today, it holds administrative offices and event spaces.

Continue walking north up D.B. Todd Boulevard. Stop when you reach the historical marker for Meharry Medical College.

Navigate to Next Stop

Tour Stops

Livingstone Hall, Samuel McElwee, Ella Sheppard Moore

1701 Jackson St., Nashville, TN 37208

Isaiah T. Creswell House and Thomas Talley House

914 17th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37208

Fisk Gates and John Hope and Aurelia Elizabeth Franklin Memorial Library

1012 17th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37208

Harris Music Building and Cravath Hall

1000 17th Ave. N. Nashville, TN 37208

Fisk Memorial Chapel

1000 17th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208

Park-Johnson Hall and Cordie Cheek

1699-1601 Phillips St., Nashville, TN 37208

Spence Hall, Shane Hall, and John Wesley Work

1020 17th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37208

Jubilee Hall

1000 17th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37208

Minnie Lou Crosthwaite and Dora Ann Scribner

1700 17th Ave. N, Nashville, TN 37208

Carnegie Academic Building and Talley-Brady Hall

1741 Meharry Blvd, Nashville, TN 37208

Little Theatre and Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery

998 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208

W.E.B. DuBois Statue, Fisk Memorial Bell, and DuBois Hall

1000 17th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208

Notable Alumni and Faculty

912 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville TN 37208

Hulda Margaret Lyttle

1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208

Meharry Medical College and Dr. D.B. Todd Blvd.

1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208

St. Anselm's Church and the Home of Z. Alexander Looby

2099-2015 Meharry Blvd, Nashville, TN 37208

Dr. Harold Dadford West

1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208

Cal Turner Family Center for Student Education

1011 21st Ave. North, Nashville TN 37208

Kresge Learning Resource Center

2001 Albion St., Nashville TN 37208

Nashville General Hospital

1818 Albion Street, Nashville, TN 37208

Dr. Dorothy Brown

1802 Albion Street, Nashville TN 37208

Full Record & Citation

Title Hulda Margaret Lyttle

Creator Nashville Historical Foundation

Author Marinia Bishay, Belmont University; 2020

Date 1889;1983

Address 1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208

Description Hulda Margaret Lyttle was born in 1889 in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Hubbard Hospital's Training School for Nurses in 1913, becoming one of the school’s first three graduates. In 1916, she returned to Meharry as Director of Nurse Training. Later in her career, she served as superintendent of Hubbard Hospital and director of the School of Nursing. In 1938, she was appointed dean of Meharry's School of Nursing. She was the school's first African American female dean and one of the first African American deans in the United States. On August 7, 1983, Lyttle died at Cedars of Lebanon Medical Center in Miami.

Type Person

Coverage Area 4

Source Hulda Margaret Lyttle

Contributor Hubbard Training School of Nursing; Meharry Medical College

Subject African Americans; Education; Health and Disease; Hospitals; Neighborhoods

Keywords People, Colleges, Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Meharry Medical College , Nursing Schools, Nurses, North Nashville

Rights CC BY-NC 4.0

0:000:00