Florence Nightingale - The Lady With The Lamp

By | December 28, 2018

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Illustration of Florence Nightingale at work. Florence Nightingale, known as the Lady of the Lamp, assists a patient. Nightingale was a nurse, hospital reformer, and philanthropist. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy in 1820, of British heritage. She was a nurse and social reformer, as well as a brilliant statistician. Nightingale is known as the “Lady With The Lamp” because she spent many hours during the night checking on her patients. She is the pioneer of modern nursing. These accomplishments are incredible, considering she was born during Victorian times when women did not normally attend universities or aspire to become a professional. Her father, William Nightingale, believed all people deserved an education. Florence and her sister learned Italian, Latin, history and math. Florence spent a year in an unpaid role as a “gentlewoman during illness.” In 1854, the British Secretary of War recruited Nightingale plus thirty-eight other nurses for service during the Crimean War.

Florence Nightingale was known as the “Lady With The Lamp”

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Florence Nightingale. Source: (natgeokids.com)

Florence Nightingale and The Crimean War

Britain was at war with Russia. When Nightingale arrived in Turkey with the other nurses, she saw the horrific conditions of the hospitals. Hundreds of soldiers were injured during battle. Nightingale realized that the wounded were sleeping in crowded dirty rooms with no blankets. These soldiers often arrived diseased, carrying cholera and dysentery. Most of these soldiers died from these illnesses rather than war injuries.