Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. In 1860, she laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women.

About Florence Nightingale in brief

Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. In 1860, she laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding the acceptable forms of female participation in the workforce. She was also a pioneer in data visualization with the use of infographics, effectively using graphical presentations of statistical data. The annual International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday, and the Florence Nightedale Medal is the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve. She died in London in 1863, and was buried at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, in 1868. She is buried in the family grave at St James’ Park, near London, with her husband William Edward Shore, and her sister Frances Parthenope. Her son William Edward was born on 12 May 1820 into a wealthy and well-connected British family at the Villa Colombaia, in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was named after the city of his birth, and his sister after her place of birth, Parthenopes, a Greek settlement now part of Naples. In her lifetime, much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge.

Much of her writing, including her extensive work on religion and mysticism, has only been published posthumously. She rejected her family’s opposition to her working as a nurse, only announcing her decision to enter the field in 1844. Despite the anger and distress of her mother and sister, she rejected the role of a mother for her sister, and rejected the idea that women could be equals to men. She said that if given the choice between being a woman or a galley slave, then she would choose the freedom of the galleys. In 1838, her father took the family on a tour in Europe where he was introduced to the English-born Parisian hostess Mary Clarke, with whom Florence bonded. She recorded that Clarkey was a stimulating hostess who did not care for her appearance, and while her ideas did not always agree with those of her guests, she was incapable of boring anyone. She and Florence were to remain close friends for 27 years despite their age difference, despite their 27-year age difference. In February 1837, Florence underwent the first of several experiences that she believed were calls from God while at Embley Park, prompting a strong desire to devote her life to the service of others. Her father educated her in history, mathematics, Italian, classical literature and philosophy, and from an early age Florence displayed an extraordinary ability for collecting and analysing data which she would use to great effect in later life. She had little respect for upper-class British women, whom she regarded generally as inconsequential.

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