Abstract: The seminar addresses the role of nurses in Philadelphia during the influenza epidemic of October and November 1918. The definition of “nurse” includes professional nurses as well as volunteers with little or no training who served as nurses. While the role of nurses in conventional hospitals is discussed, the seminar will focus on the role of nurses in emergency hospitals and visitation of tenement apartments. A great deal of attention is paid to the care of the poor and the nurses who served as their only credible lifeline.