Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) was an English nurse who worked to improve the quality of medical care for British soldiers during the Crimean War (1853–56). Her work there and writings on nursing led to major changes in the way that hospitals were run, and her influences can still be found in hospital wards today. Florence Nightingale grew up in a society in which nursing was not a respectable job for a woman, but through her efforts and determination she paved the way for women from all backgrounds to follow her example. In 1907 Florence Nightingale became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit. A year later she was given the Freedom of the City of London, an award which recognized her outstanding achievements.

Early life

Florence Nightingale was born on 12th May 1820. Florence and her older sister grew up in a wealthy family; their father was the son of a successful banker. Florence’s father wanted his daughters to have a classical education and he taught them academic subjects, including mathematics and philosophy. It was unusual for girls to have an education like this at the time.
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Girls like Florence and her sister were expected to grow up to socialize and hold grand parties, not to have careers. But Florence wanted to work and the thought of a life of idleness horrified her. She began to visit the poor and sick people on her father’s estate, caring for them and performing simple nursing tasks. She soon realised it was something she wanted to spend her life doing, and aged 16, she wrote in her diary that God was calling her to care for others.

Becoming a nurse

Florence’s family were upset by the thought of her working as a nurse because hospitals at the time were dirty, dangerous places—and the nurses were often drunk. They tried to discourage her from her ambition but she remained dedicated to it, studying nursing in private before breakfast.
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In 1851, when Florence was 31, she visited a hospital and orphanage in Germany where she was able to gain some medical experience. Committed to her calling, she visited hospitals all over Britain. Eventually Florence got a job as the head of a women’s hospital in Harley Street, London. Her father now supported her decision to take the job and provided her with an income £500 a year, which was enough for her to live comfortably and devote herself to nursing.

Crimean War

In 1853, war broke out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Britain and France joined forces with the Ottoman Turks. In September 1854, 50,000 French and British troops landed on the Crimea Peninsula in Russia and attacked the Russian base at Sevastopol. A major battle followed at Balaclava, where British cavalry rode into battle against Russian troops in a calamitous attack, known as the Charge Of The Light Brigade. Many long, gruelling months of fighting followed, and the war continued until February 1856. Russia eventually made peace in March 1856, agreeing to withdraw its warships from Black Sea ports and restoring territories in the Ottoman Empire it had occupied.

Hospitals in Crimea

The war was bloody and there were thousands of casualties. French soldiers injured in battle were nursed by well-trained Catholic nuns, but wounded British soldiers were being sent to badly-run, overcrowded military hospitals such as Scutari. More soldiers died of their wounds in hospital than on the battlefield. Basic hygiene was very poor and there were no washing facilities, towels or clothes.

​​​​​​​When the appalling conditions of the British field hospitals were reported by war correspondents, the British public was outraged and ashamed.

Arrival in Crimea

Florence Nightingale wrote to the British War Office on 14th October 1854, offering her services. Her old friend, Sidney Herbert, now the Secretary of State for War, asked her to organize a team of nurses to go and work at Scutari. A week later, on 21st October, Florence and 38 other nurses set out for the British hospital at Scutari. When they arrived, they found the hospital wards badly overcrowded. At first the doctors refused to accept Florence and her team of nurses, seeing her arrival as a criticism of what they were doing. But soon there were so many patients the doctors had no choice but to allow Florence and her nurses to help. She set them to work immediately, cleaning and dressing the soldiers’ wounds.

Sanitary reform

By December 1854 Florence had made many changes to the hospital at Scutari, and more nurses had arrived to help. She had set up a kitchen which provided good, nutritious food for patients. There was also a new laundry. The wards and beds were now clean, so diseases spread more slowly. Despite this, in January 1855 there was a sudden increase in the number of deaths from cholera, a water-borne disease spread by lack of clean water. Even three of Florence’s own nurses died. By February, four in every ten patients treated in Scutari died at the hospital.

The Lady With The Lamp

Florence set an example to her nursing staff by working some 20 hours a day. She spent as much time with her patients as she could, even helping some of them to write letters home. Although she would not allow her nurses to work on the wards after eight at night, she carried on nursing herself, making rounds of the wards by candlelight. Because of this, the patients gave her the affectionate nickname "The Lady With The Lamp".

Reforms

By the time the war ended Florence had become a national hero. In 1856, when she returned from Crimea, she received a personal letter of thanks from Queen Victoria. She did not want personal glory or fame; instead, she was determined that changes would be made so that the conditions she had seen at Scutari would never happen again. Florence submitted a report to the British Government on her experiences in Crimea, and reforms began to be made.

​​​​​​​In 1851 an army medical college was opened in Chatham, Kent and in 1861, the first military hospital was set up in Woolwich, London. The new practices Florence had recommended were put to use during the American Civil War (1861–65) and amongst the British troops stationed in India. The workhouses and slums of Britain also became safer places because of her recommendations for stopping the spread of diseases.
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Nursing education

One of Florence Nightingale’s most important contributions was to nursing education. The Nightingale School of Nursing was established in 1860 at St Thomas’s Hospital, London. Nurses there were given a strict education in practical skills such as correct bed-making and the dressing of wounds. Later, the school developed its training programme to provide more advanced training in medical anatomy. Women came from all sorts of different backgrounds to join the school. At last nursing had become a respectable profession.

Last years

Florence contracted an illness during her time in Crimea which confined her to bed for the last years of her life. She continued to work, writing letters and reports, up until her death in 1910, at the age of 90. The offer to bury her at Westminster Abbey was turned down by her relatives. She is buried instead in the graveyard at St Margaret's Church, East Wellow, Hampshire.

​​​​​​​Two years after death, In 1912, the International Committee of the Red Cross introduced the Florence Nightingale Medal. It is awarded every two years to nurses for outstanding service.