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In 1860, she funded the establishment of St. Nightingale decided to use the money to further her cause. She became the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society and was named an honorary member of the American Statistical Association. Her polar area diagram, now known as a “Nightingale Rose Diagram,” showed how the Sanitary Commission’s work decreased the death rate and made the complicated data accessible to all, inspiring new standards for sanitation in the army and beyond. But it was Nightingale’s ability to translate this data into a new visual format that really caused a sensation. It employed leading statisticians of the day, William Farr and John Sutherland, to analyze army mortality data, and what they found was horrifying: 16,000 of the 18,000 deaths were from preventable diseases-not battle. With the support of Queen Victoria, Nightingale helped create a Royal Commission into the health of the army. The Queen rewarded Nightingale’s work by presenting her with an engraved brooch that came to be known as the “Nightingale Jewel” and by granting her a prize of $250,000 from the British government. To her surprise, she was met with a hero’s welcome, which the humble nurse did her best to avoid. She left in the summer of 1856, once the Crimean conflict was resolved, and returned to her childhood home at Lea Hurst. Nightingale remained at Scutari for a year and a half. More soldiers were dying from infectious diseases like typhoid and cholera than from injuries incurred in battle. The most basic supplies, such as bandages and soap, grew increasingly scarce as the number of ill and wounded steadily increased. Patients lay on in their own excrement on stretchers strewn throughout the hallways. The hospital sat on top of a large cesspool, which contaminated the water and the hospital building itself. She quickly assembled a team of 34 nurses from a variety of religious orders and sailed with them to the Crimea just a few days later.Īlthough they had been warned of the horrid conditions there, nothing could have prepared Nightingale and her nurses for what they saw when they arrived at Scutari, the British base hospital in Constantinople.

In late 1854, Nightingale received a letter from Secretary of War Sidney Herbert, asking her to organize a corps of nurses to tend to the sick and fallen soldiers in the Crimea. But, after the Battle of Alma, England was in an uproar about the neglect of their ill and injured soldiers, who not only lacked sufficient medical attention due to hospitals being horribly understaffed but also languished in appallingly unsanitary and inhumane conditions. The poor reputation of past female nurses had led the war office to avoid hiring more. By 1854, no fewer than 18,000 soldiers had been admitted into military hospitals.Īt the time, there were no female nurses stationed at hospitals in Crimea. Thousands of British soldiers were sent to the Black Sea, where supplies quickly dwindled. The British Empire was at war against the Russian Empire for control of the Ottoman Empire. In October of 1853, the Crimean War broke out. “I think I am got something more good-natured and complying,” Florence wrote in her own defense, concerning the mother-daughter relationship. Still, like many daughters, she was eager to please her mother. Strong-willed, Florence often butted heads with her mother, whom she viewed as overly controlling. She preferred to avoid being the center of attention whenever possible. Her mother, Frances, hailed from a family of merchants and took pride in socializing with people of prominent social standing. Despite her mother’s interest in social climbing, Florence herself was reportedly awkward in social situations. Nightingale’s affluent British family belonged to elite social circles. WATCH: Women's History Documentaries on HISTORY Vault Florence Nightingale: Early Lifeįlorence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy to Frances Nightingale and William Shore Nightingale. Her efforts to reform healthcare greatly influenced the quality of care in the 19 and 20 centuries. Thomas’s Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in 1860. Her experiences as a nurse during the Crimean War were foundational in her views about sanitation. Florence Nightingale’s Impact on Nursingįlorence Nightingale (1820-1910), known as “The Lady With the Lamp,” was a British nurse, social reformer and statistician best known as the founder of modern nursing.Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War.