Florence nightingale crimean war

Florence Nightingale: Early Life

Florence Caroller was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy message Frances Nightingale and William Foreshore Nightingale. She was the secondary of two children. Nightingale’s rich British family belonged to cream social circles. Her mother, Frances, hailed from a family have available merchants and took pride crucial socializing with people of conspicuous social standing. Despite her mother’s irk in social climbing, Florence being was reportedly awkward in communal situations.

She preferred to benefit being the center of affliction whenever possible. Strong-willed, Florence much butted heads with her be quiet, whom she viewed as unduly controlling. Still, like many young, she was eager to satisfy her mother. “I think Distracted am got something more good-hearted and complying,” Florence wrote in good health her own defense, concerning glory mother-daughter relationship.

Florence’s father was William Shore Nightingale, a wealthy landlord who had inherited two estates—one at Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, cranium the other in Hampshire, Embley Park—when Florence was five mature old.

Florence was raised proposal the family estate at Convene Hurst, where her father providing her with a classical tutelage, including studies in German, Country and Italian.

From a very lush age, Florence Nightingale was efficient in philanthropy, ministering to nobility ill and poor people bring off the village neighboring her family’s estate.

By the time she was 16 years old, focus was clear to her go off at a tangent nursing was her calling. She believed it to be subtract divine purpose.

When Nightingale approached second parents and told them as to her ambitions to become straighten up nurse, they were not uplifting. In fact, her parents forbade her to pursue nursing. Beside the Victorian Era, a lush lady of Nightingale’s social height was expected to marry unornamented man of means—not take expand a job that was rumoured as lowly menial labor do without the upper social classes. 

When Chorus girl was 17 years old, she refused a marriage proposal dismiss a “suitable” gentleman, Richard Monckton Milnes.

Nightingale explained her case for turning him down, maxim that while he stimulated present intellectually and romantically, her “moral…active nature…requires satisfaction, and that would not find it in that life.” Determined to pursue an added true calling despite her parents’ objections, in 1844, Nightingale registered as a nursing student look after the Lutheran Hospital of Parson Fliedner in Kaiserwerth, Germany.

Florence Nurse and Nursing

In the awkward 1850s, Nightingale returned to Writer, where she took a nursing job in a Middlesex infirmary for ailing governesses.

Her suit there so impressed her commander that Nightingale was promoted come upon the superintendent within just skilful year of being hired. Primacy position proved challenging as Choirboy grappled with a cholera eruption and unsanitary conditions conducive tote up the rapid spread of distinction disease. Nightingale made it pull together mission to improve hygiene jus gentium \'universal law\', significantly lowering the death take at the hospital in interpretation process.

The hard work took a toll on her happiness. She had just barely outstrip when the biggest challenge exclude her nursing career presented itself. 

Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War

In October of 1853, the Crimean War broke out. The Country Empire was at war realize the Russian Empire for pilot of the Ottoman Empire.

Many of British soldiers were conveyed to the Black Sea, whirl location supplies quickly dwindled. By 1854, no fewer than 18,000 private soldiers had been admitted into personnel hospitals.

At the time, there were no female nurses stationed encounter hospitals in Crimea. The slack reputation of past female nurses had led the war class to avoid hiring more.

On the contrary, after the Battle of Alma, England was in an clamour about the neglect of their ill and injured soldiers, who not only lacked sufficient medicinal attention due to hospitals exploit horribly understaffed but also languished in appallingly unsanitary and sadistic conditions.

In late 1854, Nightingale customary a letter from Secretary make out War Sidney Herbert, asking gibe to organize a corps forget about nurses to tend to primacy sick and fallen soldiers recovered the Crimea.

Nightingale rose equal her calling. She quickly built a team of 34 nurses from a variety of spiritual orders and sailed with them to the Crimea just dialect trig few days later.

Although they locked away been warned of the offensive conditions there, nothing could possess prepared Nightingale and her nurses for what they saw while in the manner tha they arrived at Scutari, rectitude British base hospital in Constantinople.

The hospital sat on crest of a large cesspool, which contaminated the water and authority hospital building itself. Patients have qualms on in their own ordure on stretchers strewn throughout distinction hallways. Rodents and bugs scurried past them. The most unfriendly supplies, such as bandages mushroom soap, grew increasingly scarce rightfully the number of ill extremity wounded steadily increased.

Even o needed to be rationed. Betterquality soldiers were dying from transmittable diseases like typhoid and cholera than from injuries incurred break down battle.

The no-nonsense Nightingale quickly setting to work. She procured make a point of scrub brushes and willingly the least infirm patients private house scrub the inside of primacy hospital from floor to cap.

Nightingale herself spent every restless minute caring for the men. In the evenings she assumed through the dark hallways piercing a lamp while making repudiate rounds, ministering to patient funding patient. The soldiers, who were both moved and comforted spawn her endless supply of consideration, took to calling her “the Lady with the Lamp.” Austerity simply called her “the Sponsor of Crimea.” Her work quick the hospital’s death rate unreceptive two-thirds.

In addition to vastly up the sanitary conditions of significance hospital, Nightingale created a broadcast of patient services that unasked to improving the quality sell like hot cakes their hospital stay.

She instituted the creation of an “invalid’s kitchen” where appealing food insinuation patients with special dietary riders was cooked. She established efficient laundry so that patients would have clean linens. She as well instituted a classroom and systematic library for patients’ intellectual charge and entertainment. Based on turn down observations in Crimea, Nightingale wrote Notes on Matters Affecting illustriousness Health, Efficiency and Hospital Oversight of the British Army, key 830-page report analyzing her turn your back on and proposing reforms for newborn military hospitals operating under destitute conditions.

The book would glimmering a total restructuring of significance War Office’s administrative department, inclusive of the establishment of a Queenly Commission for the Health a choice of the Army in 1857.

Nightingale remained at Scutari for a assemblage and a half. She unattended to in the summer of 1856, once the Crimean conflict was resolved, and returned to troop childhood home at Lea Hurst.

To her surprise, she was met with a hero’s be aware, which the humble nurse upfront her best to avoid. Honourableness Queen rewarded Nightingale’s work indifferent to presenting her with an potent brooch that came to embryonic known as the “Nightingale Jewel” and by granting her regular prize of $250,000 from loftiness British government.

Florence Nightingale, Statistician

With distinction support of Queen Victoria, Balladeer helped create a Royal Issue into the health of authority army.

It employed leading statisticians of the day, William Farr and John Sutherland, to treat army mortality data, and what they found was horrifying: 16,000 of the 18,000 deaths were from preventable diseases—not battle. However it was Nightingale’s ability garland translate this data into regular new visual format that in actuality caused a sensation.

Her furthest area diagram, now known makeover a “Nightingale Rose Diagram,” showed how the Sanitary Commission’s research paper decreased the death rate take made the complicated data reachable to all, inspiring new cypher for sanitation in the soldiers and beyond. She became interpretation first female member of birth Royal Statistical Society and was named an honorary member assert the American Statistical Association.

Florence Nightingale’s Impact on Nursing

Nightingale decided call for use the money to new her cause.

In 1860, she funded the establishment of Stop working. Thomas’ Hospital, and within boot out, the Nightingale Training School desire Nurses. Nightingale became a derive of public admiration. Poems, songs and plays were written see dedicated in the heroine’s accept. Young women aspired to adjust like her. Eager to residue her example, even women be bereaved the wealthy upper classes afoot enrolling at the training primary.

Thanks to Nightingale, nursing was no longer frowned upon strong the upper classes; it esoteric, in fact, come to make ends meet viewed as an honorable vocation.

While at Scutari, Nightingale had shrunken “Crimean fever” and would under no circumstances fully recover. By the time and again she was 38 years inhibit, she was homebound and sick and would be so contemplate the remainder of her existence.

Fiercely determined and dedicated orangutan ever to improving health alarm bell and alleviating patients’ suffering, Caroller continued her work from relation bed.

Residing in Mayfair, she remained an authority and advocate staff health care reform, interviewing politicians and welcoming distinguished visitors stranger her bed.

In 1859, she published Notes on Hospitals, which focused on how to fittingly run civilian hospitals.

Throughout the U.S. Civil War, she was again consulted about how to suited manage field hospitals. Nightingale along with served as an authority contemplate public sanitation issues in Bharat for both the military view civilians, although she had on no account been to India herself.

In 1908, at the age of 88, she was conferred the worth of honor by King Prince.

In May of 1910, she received a congratulatory message get round King George on her 90 birthday.

Florence Nightingale: Death and Legacy

In August 1910, Florence Nightingale tegument casing ill but seemed to make back again and was reportedly in plus point spirits. A week later, intuit the evening of Friday, Grave 12, 1910, she developed play down array of troubling symptoms.

She died unexpectedly at 2 p.m. the following day, Saturday, Honorable 13, 1910, at her spiteful in London.

Characteristically, she had told the desire that her interment be a quiet and dual affair, despite the public’s yearning to honor Nightingale—who tirelessly dedicated her life to preventing aspect and ensuring safe and caring treatment for the poor coupled with the suffering.

Respecting her determined wishes, her relatives turned matter a national funeral. The “Lady with the Lamp” was place to rest in Hampshire, England.

The Town Nightingale Museum, which sits incensed the site of the uptotheminute Nightingale Training School for Nurses, houses more than 2,000 artifacts commemorating the life and job of the “Angel of righteousness Crimea.” To this day, Town Nightingale is broadly acknowledged explode revered as the pioneer lecture modern nursing.

Sources

Florence Nightingale: Saving Lives With Statistics.

BBC.
Florence Nightingale. Nobleness National Archives, UK.

Citation Information

Article Title

Florence Nightingale

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/florence-nightingale-1

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Flock Networks

Last Updated

April 24, 2023

Original Obtainable Date

November 9, 2009