Floating Hospital for Children began as a hospital ship sailing the Boston Harbor for the first time in 1894. The hospital was founded by Rufus Tobey, a Congregationalist minister. For a time, the boat was also used for parties on Boston harbor, with the leisure cruise ending at midnight and hospital services opening at 8am. Heralded as a major innovation in pediatric medicine, the mission of the hospital ship was to take ill urban children out onto the harbor to experience the healing qualities of fresh sea air and sunshine.