Get to Know
Mary Seacole
Discover why we turned Mary into a superhero
WHO WAS MARY SEACOLE?
Name: Mary Jane Seacole
Born: 1805
Died: 1881
Occupation: Nurse
Nationality: British-Jamaican
Mary was a nurse who lived during Victorian era.
Mary's was born in Jamaica in 1805 where her mother ran one of the top hotels in Kingston and also worked as a healer. She used remedies from her African and Caribbean heritage and passed on her knowledge to her daughter. In 1854 Britain went to war with Russia (the Crimean War).
Mary arrived in London keen to volunteer as a nurse but was turned down. She decided to go to Crimea and set up a hotel providing comforts to the soldiers and a base for her nursing.
Born: 1805
Died: 1881
Occupation: Nurse
Nationality: British-Jamaican
Mary was a nurse who lived during Victorian era.
Mary's was born in Jamaica in 1805 where her mother ran one of the top hotels in Kingston and also worked as a healer. She used remedies from her African and Caribbean heritage and passed on her knowledge to her daughter. In 1854 Britain went to war with Russia (the Crimean War).
Mary arrived in London keen to volunteer as a nurse but was turned down. She decided to go to Crimea and set up a hotel providing comforts to the soldiers and a base for her nursing.
In The Remarkablz Universe, Mary was born on an utopian planet. Unfortunately, the alien nation of Sirz wiped out her entire planet. For decades after, Mary travelled the Solar System to heal the wounded. She will stop at nothing to master all forms of Healing knowledge.
Superhero Backstory
Mary features in our signature card game, Top Quarkz. The game supports the development of maths, literacy and decision-making skills all while learning about some of the most impressive scientific discoveries throughout history. She also features in our colouring book, Newton's Rainbow.
We've explained the drawing and her playing card below so you can learn more.
We've explained the drawing and her playing card below so you can learn more.
Mary possesses the power to heal others' emotional wounds.
- The building behind Mary is a drawing 14 Soho Square, Soho, London. The building had a Plaque erected in 2007 by English Heritage.
- Mary received four medals from the British Government, they are pinned to her chest.
Fun Facts
- Mary loved to travel. When she was a teenager, she went to England twice. That's over 7000 km!
- The British Hotel had a general store, restaurant and hotel. The profits were used to cover the costs of the medicine.
Superpower
Mary set up the "British Hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War.
Mary Jane Seacole was born Mary Jane Grant in Kingston, Jamaica.
Location
SideKick
Florence Nightingale was another nurse who worked during the Crimean War.
Mary can not heal Psionic attacks!
Weakness
Each drawing we create has one or more hidden treasure(s) about our superheroes' life experiences, depictions in art, jobs or discoveries. Did you find the ones hidden in this drawing?
Discovery
We have packed a lot into our Top Quarkz playing cards - from amazing imagined superpowers to biographical information and hidden treasures.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
What Do Nurses Do?
A nurse is a person who is trained to give care to people who are sick or injured. Nurses work with doctors and other health care workers to make patients well and to help keep them fit and healthy. Nurses can specialise. For example some nurses help during surgeries, others might train to help people understand nutrition (what to eat)
A day in the life of a nurse. Find out about the role they play in the care of patients and families.
Video credit: SickKidsInteractive
A day in the life of a nurse. Find out about the role they play in the care of patients and families.
Video credit: SickKidsInteractive
Nurse - Kid's Dream Job
Each father and mother pass down traits to their children, who inherit combinations of their dominant or recessive alleles. But how do we know so much about genetics today?
Video credit:TedEd
Video credit:TedEd
The Life of Mary Seacole
You can find out more about life of Mary Seacole in three short videos from BBC Teach. Mary tells of her early life in Jamaica, and how her mother, a famous healer, taught her all her healing skills. As war breaks out in the Crimea, Mary travels to England to volunteer her services to Florence Nightingale, who is setting up a hospital in the Crimea. But she is deemed as supposedly "not needed". So Mary travels to the Crimea anyway to set up her own 'hospital'.
Video credit: BBC Teach
Video credit: BBC Teach
What was the Crimean War
The Crimean War took place in the 1850s. It happened because several powerful countries were fighting over land and control near the Black Sea, in a place called Crimea.
It was one of the first wars where newspapers and photographs showed people at home what war was really like. It was also when nurses like Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale became famous for helping wounded soldiers. They made big changes in how healthcare and hospitals were run.
Video credit: History Videos for Kids
It was one of the first wars where newspapers and photographs showed people at home what war was really like. It was also when nurses like Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale became famous for helping wounded soldiers. They made big changes in how healthcare and hospitals were run.
Video credit: History Videos for Kids
Victorian Paramedics?
In Victorian times, there were no paramedics like we have today but Horrible Histories is always a great way to learn.
Forget rubber gloves — they used bare hands Antibiotics? Nope. Germ theory wasn’t even widely accepted yet, so many wounds were washed in water that definitely wasn’t sterile.
So were there paramedics? Not quite. But there were brave, brilliant people who ran toward danger when others ran away — and they helped invent modern emergency care!
Video credit HorribleHistories
Forget rubber gloves — they used bare hands Antibiotics? Nope. Germ theory wasn’t even widely accepted yet, so many wounds were washed in water that definitely wasn’t sterile.
So were there paramedics? Not quite. But there were brave, brilliant people who ran toward danger when others ran away — and they helped invent modern emergency care!
Video credit HorribleHistories
What was 19th Century Medicine Like?
Medicine in the 19th century was very different from today — and often quite dangerous! Doctors and nurses didn’t fully understand germs, so surgeries and hospitals weren’t very clean. Many people got infections, and antibiotics like penicillin hadn’t been discovered yet. Painkillers were basic, and operations were done without proper anaesthetic.
But it was also a time of big change! Scientists began learning more about disease, and the human body. So while medicine in the 1800s was rough, it was also the start of modern healthcare as we know it today.
This video is suitable for 13+.
Video credit: BBC Teach
But it was also a time of big change! Scientists began learning more about disease, and the human body. So while medicine in the 1800s was rough, it was also the start of modern healthcare as we know it today.
This video is suitable for 13+.
Video credit: BBC Teach
"the grateful words and smile which rewarded me for binding up a wound (..) was a pleasure worth risking life for" Mary Seacole
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