Queen Victoria was a big fan of Florence Nightingale.īefore the Crimea War ended, Queen Victoria rewarded Nightingale’s service by sending her a special brooch as a thank-you token. Every slice represents a given month’s casualties, with the colors red, blue, and black designating death via 'wounds,' 'preventable disease,' and 'other causes,' respectively. Her 1858 report, 'Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army,' includes the graph pictured above. The first true pie chart was drawn in 1801, 19 years before Nightingale was born, but she became an early adopter and promoter of the statistical tool. Florence Nightingale helped popularize the pie chart.įlorence Nightingale popularized pie charts as well as epidemiology. In a letter sent in 1856, she wrote, 'It is with very sincere sorrow that I am obliged to confirm the fears of the father of the Late Howell Evans about his poor son … I have never in my life had so painful & unsatisfactory a letter to write.' 7. Nightingale wrote to soldiers' families to tell them of their loved ones' deaths. Florence Nightingale frequently wrote letters home on behalf of dying or dead soldiers.

Nightingale could often be 'observed alone,' the paper continued, checking up on the wounded 'with a little lamp in her hand.' Nightingale soon won international acclaim as the benevolent 'Lady with the Lamp.' 6. 'She is a ‘ministering angel’ without any exaggeration in these hospitals,' the London Times wrote in 1855. Florence Nightingale's diligence inspired a glowing nickname. Nightingale implemented strict hygiene rules that whittled the mortality rate down to 2 percent by June. Over 42 percent of admitted patients died in February 1855. At the makeshift facility, feces littered the floors, rats scampered through the hallways, and clean linens were a rare commodity. Nightingale was friends with UK war secretary Sidney Herbert, and he gave her permission to round up 38 volunteers and treat the wounded at a field hospital in Scutari. This 1850s conflict, in which Britain and France clashed with Russia over its invasion of Turkish territory, turned Nightingale into a Victorian celebrity. Florence Nightingale had 38 nurses working under her during the Crimean War. She turned down multiple proposals, including one made by a cousin named Henry Nicholson.

Florence Nightingale refused to get married.įlorence Nightingale, the lady with the lamp / London Stereoscopic Company/GettyImages Three years later, Nightingale became the superintendent of a London-based women’s hospital. But their determined daughter’s mind was made up and, in 1850, she finally started learning the skills. When 16-year-old Nightingale announced that she felt ' called' to become a nurse, her parents weren’t thrilled. In the 1830's, nursing was associated with low social status, paltry wages, and alcohol abuse. Florence Nightingale chose to pursue nursing at a young age, despite her parents' objections. Through him, she learned the basics of everything from mathematics to philosophy to Shakespearean literature. Her father, a wealthy Cambridge-educated landowner, personally oversaw Florence’s education.

Florence Nightingale was fluent in English, French, German, and Italian.įlorence Nightingale also had a decent grasp of both Latin and classical Greek. Here are a few facts about the 'lady with the lamp.' 1. She left a revolutionary mark on sanitation, healthcare, and even statistics. Venerated as the 'founder of modern nursing,' Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820.

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