Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer and the founder of modern nursing.
Nightingale became famous while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the
Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. She gave nursing a favourable
reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture. She was called ‘The lady of the lamp’.

Parents:

Her parents were William Edward Nightingale (father) born William Edward Shore (1794–1874)
and Frances Nightingale née Smith ( mother) (1788–1880).

Birth palace:

Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 into a wealthy, upper class and well-connected
British family at the Villa Colombaia in Florence, Tuscany, Italy, and was named after the city of
her birth. Her family moved back to England in 1821.

Early Education :

At the time when Florence was born, many girls did not receive any type of education. Florence
was very lucky because her father, William Nightingale, believed that all women should receive
an education. He taught Florence and her sister a variety of subjects ranging from science and
mathematics to history and philosophy.

Teen age years and early days:

Florence grew up and she developed an interest in helping others. She cared for sick pets and
servants whenever she had the chance.
At seventeen years of age, she believed she was called into service by God “to do something
toward lifting the load of suffering from the helpless and miserable.At first her parents refused to
allow her to become a nurse because, at that time, it was not thought to be a suitable profession
for a well educated woman. But Florence did not give up. Eventually in 1851 her father gave his
permission and Florence went to Germany to train as a nurse.
Work:
In 1854 Florence Nightingale was asked to go to Turkey to manage the nursing of British
soldiers wounded in the Crimean War (1854 - 56). She traveled to Scutari (the location where
the wounded and ill soldiers of the Crimean War were taken) to help the wounded soldiers.
She found the hospital conditions to be in a very poor state. Many of the wounded were
unwashed and were sleeping in overcrowded, dirty rooms without blankets or decent food. In
these conditions diseases such as typhus, cholera and dysentery spread quickly. As a result,
the death rate amongst wounded soldiers was very high. Most soldiers died from infections and
disease. (Only one in six died from their war wounds; the other five in six died from infections
and disease.
Florence and her nurses changed these conditions. They set up a kitchen, fed the wounded
from their own supplies, dug latrines for sanitation, and asked for help from the wives of the
wounded. They were then able to properly care for the ill and wounded and the death rate
among the soldiers dropped.

Why was Florence Nightingale called 'The lady of the lamp' ?

Florence was very dedicated to her job. She would often visit the soldiers at night when every
one was asleep just to make sure they were ok. She was then referred to as “The Lady of the
Lamp” because she hardly took time off to sleep. Florence became a true hero to the soldiers
and everyone back home in England.