This study presents a biographic historical data of Waleska Paixão (1903-1993), emphasizing different moments of her personal and professional life. It describes her introduction in the Nursing field, analyzing her path as student, teacher and director of Carlos Chagas Nursing School, highlighting her most significant contributions to the Brazilian Nursing Association (Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem). The primary sources belong to the documentary collection of the School Memorial Center of the Nursing School, Federal University of Minas Gerais and to Waleska Paixão's oral testimony filed in the institution. The results show that the will and wish to acquire, produce, share and spread knowledge are part of the way of Waleska Paixão, who grew up professionally by herself and started to be considered as unique in the teaching and practice of nursing, showing her involvement with the field of education and health and some of her contributions to the development of Brazilian nursing.
History of Nursing; Biography; Nursing Schools