Myrtle Kitchell Aydelotte was born on May 31, 1917, in
Van Meter, Iowa. As a child, her family moved to
Ada, Minnesota, and she graduated from high school there. Her nursing career began in 1939 when she graduated from the
University of Minnesota School of Nursing. As a baccalaureate-educated new nurse, she was able to enter a hospital position as a head nurse for two years. During
World War II, Aydelotte served in the
Army Nurse Corps and was stationed in Italy and Africa. She retired from her academic and hospital positions in 1976. Aydelotte was CEO of the
American Nurses Association from 1977 to 1981. Aydelotte was honored as a Fellow of the
American Academy of Nursing in 1976. She was honored as a Living Legend by the organization in 1994, the first year that the academy awarded that designation. a University of Iowa professor and
National Academy of Sciences member who twice chaired the school's history department, from 1956 to his death in 1996. She moved to
Rochester, New York, after her retirement. She died there on January 7, 2010. ==Works==