Primary History - Famous People

Why is Florence Nightingale famous?

How did she become famous?
Florence Nightingale went to the Crimean War to nurse wounded soldiers. She and her nurses saved many lives.

When did she live?
Florence was born in 1820. This was ten years before Britain had its first steam passenger railway. She lived through the long reign of Queen Victoria. She died in 1910, after the age of electricity, cars and planes began.

What Florence Nightingale did
Florence Nightingale made hospitals cleaner places. She showed that trained nurses and clean hospitals helped sick people get better. She was the founder of modern nursing.

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Florence's childhood

A rich family
Florence's father was William Nightingale, a rich banker. William and his wife Fanny went to Italy after they married in 1818. Florence was born in Italy on 12th May. She was named after the city of Florence.

Florence's sister
Florence had an older sister, Frances Parthenope (known as 'Pop'). Pop was born in Italy too. The girls had lessons from their father. Florence was clever, and liked history and maths.

The Nightingales had a winter home in Hampshire and a summer home in Derbyshire. They had servants.

What did most women do?
In Victorian Britain, poor women worked as servants or in factories. Rich girls like Florence were expected to marry and look after a home, perhaps doing charity work.

Why Florence did not marry
Florence was very religious. From the age of 16 she believed God wanted her to do important work. When she was 22, a young writer asked her to marry him. After seven years making up her mind, Florence said no.

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How to become a nurse?

Choices for Florence
Florence could go to parties. She could travel. In 1849 she visited Egypt. But she did not want a life of leisure. She wanted to be a nurse.

Why her parents said no
When Florence told her parents, they were shocked. Hospitals at this time were dirty and horrible. Doctors did operations with no anaesthetic. Most people who went into hospital died. Florence could not possibly work as a nurse.

The trouble with nurses
Nurses were not respectable or trained.

Florence's parents sent her to Italy, to forget about nursing. She met a young Englishman, Sidney Herbert, and he told her rich people should help the poor. Florence came home determined to be a nurse.

Florence gets her way
In 1851, Florence went to Germany, to a Christian nursing school for women. She learned nursing for three months. It was hard work, but she loved it.

First job in a hospital
In 1853 a rich friend asked Florence to run a London hospital for 'Invalid Gentlewomen'. There was no pay, but Mr Nightingale gave her money. She made lots of useful changes in the hospital. At home, when her father and sister became ill, Florence nursed them.

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The Crimean War

Britain goes to war
In 1854 the Crimean War began. Britain, France and Turkey were fighting Russia. The Crimea was part of Russia. British soldiers went to the war in ships.

Bad news
People read about the war in newspapers. The news was at first bad. William Howard Russell was a reporter for The Times. He wrote that he had seen soldiers dying of hunger and cold. Many were sick. There was no proper medical care.

Hospitals need nurses
Things got worse after battles. Army hospitals were filled with wounded men. But without nurses, more soldiers were dying from diseases than in battles.

Florence gets her chance
Sidney Herbert was now Minister for War. He asked Florence to lead a team of nurses to the Crimea. This was her chance to do something important!

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The Lady with the Lamp

Florence goes to war
Florence and 38 nurses arrived in Turkey in November 1854. At first the Army doctors wanted nothing to do with her. Florence would not go away. So the doctors let the nurses into the Army hospital at Scutari. Florence got busy cleaning up.

The horrible hospital
The hospital was overcrowded and filthy. There were not enough beds, so men lay on the floor. They were not washed. There were no proper toilets. Drains were blocked. Rats ran everywhere. The smell was terrible.

Green bread and diseases
The patients ate bread that was mouldy-green, and meat 'more like leather', Florence said. Without good food, sick men could not get better. Without clean bandages, clean beds and clean water, many died from diseases.

What Florence did
Florence worked 20 hours a day. She went to the town to buy fresh food. She started clean kitchens, and a French chef named Alexis Soyer came to cook better meals. She paid workmen to clear the drains. Soon the hospital was cleaner, and fewer men were dying.

Walking with her lamp
At night Florence walked around the wards, to make sure the men were comfortable. She sat with dying soldiers. She wrote letters home for men who could not write. She carried a lantern, so the soldiers called her 'The Lady with the Lamp'.

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What Florence did next

Home a heroine
People in Britain gave money to a fund to help the 'Nightingale Nurses'. When Florence came home in 1856, people called her a heroine. The Sultan of Turkey sent her a diamond bracelet! Queen Victoria wrote a letter of thanks.

Florence went home to Derbyshire by train. She called herself 'Miss Smith' so people would not know who she was. She did not want any fuss.

Meeting the Queen
Later Florence met Queen Victoria. She told the Queen what was wrong with Army hospitals. Florence went on visiting Army camps and hospitals. She wrote letters to important people.

Change comes
The Army started training doctors. Hospitals got cleaner. Soldiers got better clothes and food.

In 1860 the Nightingale Training School for nurses was opened at St Thomas's Hospital in London. Florence's book Notes for Nursing helped many student nurses.

Florence's last years
Florence worked so hard she became ill. For the last 40 years of her life she stayed in bed most of the time. But she went on writing letters, collecting facts and figures. In 1907 she was awarded the Order of Merit. She was the first woman to receive this honour.

Florence Nightingale died on 13th August 1910.

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