Cuban national postage stamp commemorates Clara Maass

In 1952, the government of Cuba issued a national postage stamp honoring Clara Maass in recognition of her sacrifice during the yellow fever experiments conducted in Havana half a century earlier.

This commemoration by the Cuban government was notable both for its early timing — decades before Maass received comparable recognition in her own country — and for what it revealed about the deep historical and scientific ties between Cuba and the United States forged during the yellow fever research campaigns. The Havana-based experiments in which Maass died had direct, life-saving consequences for Cuba itself, where yellow fever had long been endemic and deadly, and where subsequent mosquito-control sanitation campaigns dramatically reduced disease transmission.

The stamp stood as one of the earliest philatelic honors given to an American nurse by a foreign government, reflecting the international significance of the Havana experiments beyond U.S. borders. It also served as a form of diplomatic and scientific gratitude, acknowledging that Maass's death, alongside the deaths and suffering of Cuban, Spanish, and American volunteers, had helped unlock the key to controlling one of the era's most feared tropical diseases.

This early recognition preceded Maass's more famous American commemorations — including her 1976 U.S. postage stamp and Nursing Hall of Fame induction — by nearly a quarter century, underscoring how her legacy was first substantially honored abroad before receiving full recognition in her home country.

Note: while multiple sources confirm the 1952 issuance, the exact calendar date of the stamp's release is not documented in available records.