Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War | Understanding Uncertainty Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War Submitted by ims25 on Tue, 07/10/2008 - 5:06pm On 28 March 1854 Britain and France declared war on Russia, and for the next two years British, French, Sardinian, and Turkish troops fought against Russians in the Crimean War. The loss of life in the war was colossal; of 1 650 000 soldiers who began the war (of all nations), 900 000 died. The majority of those who perished did not die from wounds; rather they died from diseases brought about by the terrible living conditions which they suffered. In these notes we review the Crimean War, and the role Florence Nightingale had in highlighting the plight of the soldiers. Siege of Sevastopol Background to the war The Ottoman Empire (1293-1922) was a realm centred on Turkey, which, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, spanned thousands of miles into Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The empire declined in the nineteenth century, and as it shrank there was conflict over control of the territory. The Holy Land (modern day Israel) was a region in the Ottoman Empire that had a long history of power struggles. In the 1850s France and Russia vied for authority of the Holy Land, each trying to force their will on the Ottomans who occupied the territory. Their disagreement escalated, and as the threat of Russian interference in the whole Ottoman Empire increased, Britain, Austria, and Prussia became involved to try to maintain stability of the empire. Initial peaceful negotiations failed, and the British and French sided with the Turkish Ottomans in war against the Russians. Major events of the war Most of the conflict in the Crimean War occurred on the Crimean Peninsula, which lies on the southern tip of Ukraine, and projects into the Black Sea. The Crimea was an important military position for the Russians, because their naval fleet could access the Mediterranean Sea from the region. Several of the more significant battles in the Crimean War are described below. The Battle of the Alma (20 September 1854).

In the first battle of the Crimean War, British and French forces clashed with Russian forces near the River Alma in the Crimea. The Russians were defeated. Siege of Sevastopol (25 September 1854 to 8 September 1855). Sevastopol is a city in the south of the Crimea, and it was the home of a major fleet of Russian ships. The British, French, and Turkish troops besieged the city for one year before finally capturing it on the 9 September 1855. The Battle of Balaclava (25 October 1854). The Battle of Balaclava is now remembered for the calamitous Charge of the Light Brigade which saw British cavalry charge needlessly to their doom under the muddled and misinformed orders of their superiors. Much of the fame of this futile advance is due to a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson entitled 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', which describes the bravery of the cavalry under incompetent command. The Battle of Balaclava involved British, French, Turkish, and Russian armies. It finished inconclusively, although the Russians suffered heavier losses.

The Battle of Eupatoria (17 February 1855). A large Russian force attacked the town of Eupatoria in the Crimea, which was occupied by the Turks. The Russians were repelled. The Sea of Azov naval campaign (25 May 1855 to 22 November 1855). British and French war ships attacked Russian ports from the Sea of Azov during a six month period in 1855. The object of these attacks was to intercept Russian communications and supplies. The war ships bombarded the Russian towns repeatedly, but they were met with stubborn resistance, and attempts to land and overthrow the port towns were quashed. Map of Crimea with locations of battles marked. The close of the war The war concluded in February 1856. The Ottoman and Russian Empires agreed to halt military activity on the Black Sea, and all nations agreed to respect the autonomy of the Ottoman Empire. The peace treaty was not to last long though. The balance of power and partnership in Europe was in a state of constant flux. Old alliances failed, new alliances were formed, and by the 1870s the treaty had been abandoned.

Florence Nightingale's role in the war Those British troops wounded from fighting on the Crimean Peninsula were shipped across the Black Sea to medical stations in Turkey. These stations were poorly staffed, with insufficient supplies, and the medical and sanitary conditions were awful. This terrible state of affairs was reported by the media in Britain. Thirty eight voluntary nurses, amongst them Florence Nightingale, travelled to Turkey to help relieve the situation. Nightingale proved herself to be hugely resourceful. Her competence and generosity were reported back in Great Britain. The Times Newspaper described her deeds in the following excerpt. She is a 'ministering angel' without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds. Nightingale became known as 'The Lady with the Lamp' after these words were published in the Times.

Florence Nightingale Diseases such as typhus, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery were rife in the army hospitals. Many more soldiers were dying from diseases than from wounds. Nightingale worked towards improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and activity for the patients of the hospitals. Death rates were reduced dramatically with the introduction of such measures. Nightingale kept meticulous records of the number of deaths, and the causes of deaths, so that on her return to Great Britain she could justify the need for improving conditions in hospitals. Following Nightingale's return to Great Britain and her campaign for better living conditions for the army, the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army was created. Nightingale prepared an 800 page report for the commission on the welfare of the army. She advocated the use of statistics as a tool in decision making. Nightingale created graphs to demonstrate that more soldiers died in the Crimean War from disease than from wounds. Many of these graphs were of a particular flower like type, and are now described as coxcombs. Levels: BBC - Primary History - Famous People - Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale 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. 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. 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. 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! 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'. 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. Florence Nightingale - The National Archives Florence Nightingale External links On 4 November 1854, Florence Nightingale arrived in Turkey with a group of 38 nurses from England. Britain was at war with Russia (the Crimean War 1854-1856) and the conditions in the hospitals were very bad. Hundreds of soldiers were injured in the fighting. In those days, hospitals were very basic and the soldiers were not given good food and medicine to help them get better. When Florence Nightingale got to the hospital, she saw that wounded men were sleeping in overcrowded, dirty rooms without any blankets. Wounded soldiers often arrived with diseases like typhus, cholera and dysentery. More men died from these diseases than from their injuries.

When she arrived at the hospital, the army doctors who worked there did not want the nurses helping. Soon after they arrived, however, there was a very large battle and the doctors realised they needed the nurses’ help. Florence Nightingale realised that if the doctors were going to allow her nurses to work then they had to do a very good job. Tasks Source 4 5. Now you are going to take part in a role-play. It is late September 1854. Florence Nightingale and Elisabeth Herbert (the wife of Sidney Herbert, the Secretary of War) are interviewing a woman who wants to go to the Crimea as a nurse. First you will have to decide what questions you want to ask the woman. You can ask no more than eight. Use your observations from the exercise in section 2 to help you choose the ones that will be most effective in deciding whether the woman is suitable. Now get into a group of three. One person should play the part of the woman who wants to go to the Crimea as a nurse. The other two play Florence and Elisabeth and ask the questions. At the end you must decide, do we offer the woman a job as a nurse?

Background Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 to a wealthy couple. As she grew up, she decided that she had a calling to help the sick and poor and decided she wanted to become a nurse. When Florence told her parents what she wanted, they were not happy. Being a nurse was not respectable and was not thought to be a proper profession. Therefore they did not want this for their daughter. Eventually, her father gave his permission for her to go to Germany where she gained some nursing experience at the Deaconess Institution Hospital for the poor and sick. When she returned she became the lady superintendent (manager) of a hospital for gentlewomen in Harley Street, London. When war broke out, the government only expected it to last until Christmas. It actually lasted two years. They were not ready for how many soldiers would be injured, and this was one of the reasons why the hospitals were in such a bad state. A reporter for the Times newspaper sent back several reports about the hospitals, and people in Britain started demanding something was done about them. This was when the Minister for War, Sidney Herbert, stepped in and asked Florence Nightingale to arrange and take charge of nurses to send to the war.

Florence returned after the war as a national heroine. She had been shocked by the conditions in the hospital and began to campaign to improve the quality of nursing in military hospitals. Importantly, she gathered a lot of information about food, death rates, and doctors’ training in these hospitals. In October 1856 she met with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and in 1857 she gave evidence to a Sanitary Commission. This helped with the setting up of the Army Medical College in Chatham in 1859. In 1859, Florence published a book called ‘Notes on Nursing’ which is still in print today. She also founded the Nightingale School and Home for Nurses at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Up until her death, Florence encouraged the development in nursing in Britain and abroad. The main reason we remember her is that she did a lot of work educating people about the importance of keeping hospitals clean and free from infections, and this work is carried on today in modern hospitals. Something which is less well known is that she was also very gifted with numbers and reports, and because of this, she became the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society in 1858.

Teachers' notes Florence Nightingale is best known for her work at Scutari hospital, Turkey, during the Crimean War and then afterwards for her role in developing nursing as a profession. She is also known as ‘the lady with the lamp’ and this quotation relates to an article published about her in the Times newspaper on Thursday 8 February 1855, which reads: ‘She is a “ministering angel” without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor every poor fellow’s face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night, and silence and darkness have settled down upon these miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds.’ The mention of the miles of sick relates to contemporary reports that the wards at Scutari stretched for four miles. It took Florence and her nurses 13 days to reach Scutari. They travelled by ship to Boulogne, then overland to Marseilles where they had a break in the journey. From Marseilles, they took the mail steamer ‘Vectis’ to Scutari.

Other women who nursed during the Crimean war were Mary Seacole and Elizabeth (Betsy) Davis. The documents are designed for use in key stage 1 as part of an enquiry into Florence Nightingale and are intended to be read to pupils by their teacher. They can also be designed for use in key stage 2 as part of a study of the Victorians. Glossary You may need to help with some of the language in this document: Derry Wrapper : A wrapper is a type of dressing gown. Linseywoolsey : A coarse fabric made from linen or cotton with a wool filling Alpaca : A glossy black woollen fabric Stays : Flat strips of steel or plastic used for stiffening corsets. The word was also often used to refer to corsets in general.

Sources Illustration – COPY 1/11 Source 1 – ‘One of the wards of the hospital at Scutari’, an illustration published 21 April 1856 by Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co, by kind permission of the Wellcome Library, London Source 2 – WO 33/1 An extract from the ‘Report upon the state of the hospitals of the British Army in the Crimea and Scutari’ Source 4 – WO 43/963 Extract from Rules and Regulations for the Nurses Attached to the Military Hospitals in the East. External links Facts About Florence Nightingale | Primary Facts Facts About Florence Nightingale by James • 70 Comments Florence Nightingale was a famous nurse. She is best known for the work she did to care for the wounded soldiers during the Crimean War , but she also made a big contribution to changing the way in which hospitals were run. She was a celebrity in Victorian times and she has continued to be spoken and written about to this day. We’ve put together some great Florence Nightingale facts for kids, teachers and parents – we hope you find this information both useful and interesting.

Key Florence Nightingale Facts – (Before the Crimean War) Florence Nightingale was born in Florence (Italy) on 12th May 1820. Her mother was called Fanny and her father was called William. Florence also had an older sister called Parthenope. They were a very wealthy family. Florence grew up mingling with other rich children and spent much of her time visiting friends and attending parties. On 7th February 1837, when she was 16 years, old Florence was convinced that she had heard the voice of God calling to her. She believed that God wanted her to carry out some special work. When she was in her twenties Florence began to take an interest in how the sick people in the villages around her home (in Romsey, Hampshire) were taken care of. She started to believe that God wanted her to be a nurse. Her parents were both shocked and angry when she told them that she wanted to learn more about nursing at a Salisbury hospital. At the time nearly all nurses came from poor families. Florence and some of her friends visited Kaiserwerth (in what is now Germany). The town was home to a hospital famous for training nurses.

One year later, in 1851, Florence Nightingale recieved three months training at the hospital in Kaiserwerth. Florence returned home as a trained nurse. She put these skills to good use as from 1851 – 1853 she cared for her mother, father and sister who had all become ill. In 1853, when she was 33, she took a job running a small private hospital in London’s Harley Street. Her father realised that Florence was really serious about helping the sick and injured and promised to pay her £500 a year. This was a massive sum of money in Victorian times. In 1854 Florence helped to tend people suffering from cholera. Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War In 1854 the Crimean War started between the Turks (and the British and French) on one side and the Russians on the other. William Russell, a journalist for The Times, reported that British troops were dying becasue there weren’t enough doctors, nurses and medical supplies.

Sidney Herbert, a friend of Florence’s and the member of the government in charge of the military, wrote to her and asked her to organise a group of nurses and head for the Crimea (in Turkey). On 4th November 1854 Florence Nightingale and 38 other nurses arrived at Scutari, an area of the city of Constantiople. The main British hospital was located there and Florence was not impressed by the conditions. The hospital was dirty, the drains were blocked, rats and fleas were everywhere. At first the doctors did not want the help of Florence Nightingale and her nurses, but they soon changed their minds when the number of wounded soldiers continued to grow. Florence made lots of improvements to the hospital in Scutari. She had the drains cleaned, sorted out a supply of drinking water, filled the hospital stores with clean sheets and bandages, set up a nursing timetable and made sure that the soliders were well fed and cared for. Florence became very popular. The soldiers used to call her the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ because she used to walk the hospital wards at night to check on her patients. The Crimean War ended in 1856 and Florence returned to England.

She was a national heroine and many Victorians bought ornaments of Florence Nightingale to display in their homes. Florence also received thousands of letters from the public thanking her for the work she had performed during the war. Queen Victoria invited Florence to meet with her in Balmoral , Scotland. They discussed Florence’s experiences and how military hospitals could be improved. Life After the Lamp – Facts About the Second Half of Florence Nightingale’s Life In 1859 Florence Nightingale wrote a book about caring for the sick called Notes on Nursing. Florence Nightingale was convinced that all nurses should be properly trained, and in 1860 she set up the Nightingale Training School (for nurses) at St Thomas’s Hospital, London. The nurses who completed the training were known as Nightingale Nurses. Florence carried on writing letters and reports about ways to improve health care. Her work became known in other countries and the Nightingale Nurses often went to work abroad, sharing Florence’s methods and ideas. From 1861 to 1865, Florence gave advice on how best to care for soldiers wounded in the American Civil War.

Florence Nightingale was awarded the Royal Red Cross (from Queen Victoria) and the Order of Merit in 1907 (from King Edward VII). This was the first time the Order of Merit had been awarded to a woman. Florence Nightingale died in 1910, aged 90. She is buried in a Hampshire churchyard. Her simple tombstone bears only her initials and the years in which she was born and died. Florence Nightingale wasn’t the only women who made a name for herself by caring for the wounded troops of the Crimean War. Check out some facts about Mary Seacole , another Victorian lady who risked her life to tend the suffering soldiers, and read about some of the other famous Victorians . Florence Nightingale - History's HEROES from E2BN History's HEROES?

Dated 12/05/1820 - 13/08/1910 Florence Nightingale She healed wounded soldiers in the Crimean War Achievements Healed wounded soldiers in the Crimean war Invented the pie chart A good and strong leader Clever Single minded / Focused (has a purpose) Inspiring / Charismatic Visit Wikipedia A famous English nurse who healed wounded soldiers Florence Nightingale, nicknamed Lady of the Lamp, was a famous English nurse in the Crimean war which was held in Russia. Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing establishing, in 1860, of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the first secular nursing school in the world. The Nightingale Pledge, taken by new nurses, was named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday. Florence Nightingale's most famous contribution came during the Crimean War, which became her focus when reports came back to Britain about the terrible conditions for the wounded.

On 21 October 1854, she and a staff of 38 women volunteer nurses, trained by Nightingale and including her aunt Mai Smith, were sent to the Ottoman Empire, across the Black Sea from Balaklava in the Crimea, where the main British camp was based. Nightingale arrived early in November 1854 at Selimiye Barracks in Scutari. She and her nurses found wounded soldiers being badly cared for by overworked medical staff. Medicines were in short supply, hygiene was neglected, and mass infections were common, many of them fatal. There was no equipment to process food for the patients. However, death rates did not drop: they began to rise. The death count was the highest of all hospitals in the region. During her first winter at Scutari, 4,077 soldiers died there. Ten times more soldiers died from illnesses such as typhus, typhoid, cholera and dysentery than from battle wounds. Conditions at the temporary barracks hospital were so fatal to the patients because of overcrowding and the hospital's poor sewers and lack of ventilation.

A Sanitary Commission was sent out by the British government to Scutari in March 1855, almost six months after Florence Nightingale had arrived, and flushed out the sewers and improved the ventilation. Death rates were sharply reduced. During the war she did not recognise hygiene as the main cause of death, and she never claimed credit for helping to reduce the death rate. Nightingale believed the death rates were due to poor food and supplies and overworking of the soldiers. It was not until after she returned to Britain and began collecting evidence for the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army, that she came to believe that most of the soldiers at the hospital were killed by poor living conditions. This experience influenced her later career, when she advocated cleanliness as of great importance. Consequently, she reduced deaths in the army during peacetime and turned attention to the sanitary design of hospitals. Life in Florence Nightingale's world The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901.

The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements at home. Some scholars extend the beginning of the period "as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political games that have come to be associated with the Victorians" back five years to the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Was Florence Nightingale a Hero? She invented the pie chart She healed the wounded soldiers Things you might not know about Florence Nightingale She invented the pie chart. Attachments IMA Hero: Florence Nightingale HH Contents: Florence Nightingale | Fl orence's Calling | Crimean War | Red Cross | Hospital Improvements | Nightingale Training School | Nursing Becomes a Respectable Profession | Honoring Florence Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) Florence Nightingale is the founder of modern nursing. She transformed nursing into a respectable profession and set the standards for clean, safe hospitals in the world. Florence is honored as the first great nurse of the world. Her picture hangs on the wall in many hospitals. Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy.

She was named Florence after her city of birth. Florence's sister was born in Naples and is named Parthenope. Parthenope is the Greek name for Naples. Top of Page Florence's Calling When Florence was 24 years old, she had a "calling" from God. She wrote in her journal, "God spoke to me and called me to His service." Florence decided her calling was to help the sick and the poor by becoming a nurse. Florence came from a wealthy family and was not expected to work. It was especially unacceptable for Florence to work as a nurse because nursing was not a respectable profession at this time. This, however, did not stop Florence from following her desires. Florence went to the Institute of Deaconesses in Kaiserswerth, Germany, to learn about nursing. At this time, nurses learned through experience, not through training. Florence treated sick people, distributed medicine, and assisted during operations. She was very happy and said, "We learned to think of our work, not ourselves." Top of Page The Crimean War In 1854, England entered the Crimean War.

Florence and a team of 38 nurses went to the Crimea (near Turkey) to help the wounded soldiers. The military hospitals were dirty and run down. Florence made sanitary improvements which helped bring the death rate down from 40% to 2%. Florence was kind and gentle with the soldiers. She would talk with them and comfort them as she made her rounds. This gave the soldiers hope. When Florence made her rounds at night, she carried a lamp with her to light her way and became known as "The Lady with the Lamp." Top of Page The Red Cross Florence's work in the Crimean War inspired Jean Henri Dunant. In 1864, Dunant founded the International Red Cross. It began as an international society of volunteers who cared for sick and wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. Today, the Red Cross also provides disaster relief during peacetime. Top of Page Hospital Improvements During Florence's time, the hospitals were overcrowded, poorly run, and disease infested. They were doing more harm than good. Florence thought hospitals should help patients, not hurt them. This was a revolutionary idea at the time. Florence wrote Notes on Hospitals explaining how to make improvements to hospitals.

She believed hospitals needed better ventilation, more windows, improved drainage, and less cramped conditions. With Florence's guidance, hospitals became clean and sanitary places where lives were saved, not lost. Florence also became an expert on designing hospitals. Foreign rulers sought her advice when building their hospitals. Soon, hospitals throughout the world were being built according to her ideas. Today, we still see how Florence has improved hospitals. The flowers, recreation rooms, and bright wards are an influence of Florence's work. Top of Page Nightingale Training School for Nurses Florence thought nurses should learn through both experience and training. In 1860, Florence opened the first training school for nurses. It was called the Nightingale Training School, and the nurses were called Nightingale Nurses. Today, the Nightingale Nurses carry on Florence's work of caring for the sick and the poor. Top of Page Nursing becomes a Respectable Profession Florence created high standards for the nursing profession. These standards helped transform nursing into the respectable profession we know today. Florence's writings continue to provide excellent resources for nurses and health care providers. Her book, Notes on Nursing, spells out the principles of nursing.

Top of Page Honoring Florence Florence Nightingale died on August 13, 1910, in London, England. She was 90 years old. She is buried at St. Margaret's, East Wellow, near her family home at Embley. Her inscription states, "F.N. Born 1820. Died 1910." She did not want any other memorial. Many nurses came to pay tribute to Florence at her funeral. Florence has been commemorated on stamps, medals, and the British �10. The Florence Nightingale Pledge for nurses is still recited today. In England, there are two wreath laying ceremonies to commemorate Florence's birthday. There are several monuments, plaques, and museums around the world in Florence's honor. In England, there are monuments in London and St. Margaret's Church, where she is buried. In Italy, there are plaques commemorating Florence's birthplace. In Turkey, there is a museum established in part of the Barracks Hospital used by Florence during the Crimean War. Florence revolutionized the nursing profession and is a hero in our hearts.

Miss Nightingale Dies, Aged Ninety Miss Nightingale Dies, Aged Ninety By THE NEW YORK TIMES LONDON, Aug. 14.--Florence Nightingale, the famous nurse of the Crimean war, and the only woman who ever received the Order of Merit, died yesterday afternoon at her London home. Although she had been an invalid for a long time, rarely leaving her room, where she passed the time in a half-recumbent position, and was under the constant care of a physician, her death was somewhat unexpected. A week ago she was quite sick, but then improved, and on Friday was cheerful. During that night alarming symptoms developed, and she gradually sank until 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, when the end came. During recent years, owning to her feebleness and advanced age, Miss Nightingale had received but few visitors. On May 12 last she celebrated her ninetieth birthday, and was the recipient of a congratulatory message from King George.

Her wishes were that her funeral should be as quiet as possible, and though there is a strong feeling among the general public and among military men in favor of a public funeral, there is little doubt that her expressed desire in this connection will be taken into consideration. Not even the death of a royal personage could have called forth more universal expressions of regret and tributes of love and affection than appear in the English papers. Miss Nightingale's Career "The Queen of Nurses" and "The Soldier's Friend" are titles which have stuck to Florence Nightingale since her memorable service in behalf of the wounded and dying in the Crimean war. Though Miss Nightingale was 90 years old last May, and although she had been an invalid ever since she returned from the Levant in the stirring times following the heroic struggle of the British in the Russian Empire, she retained her mental faculties to the last. The last honor to be conferred upon her by a grateful country was in 1908, when the freedom of the City of London was bestowed upon her. The ceremony took place in the Guildhall, in the presence of thousands of people, including many nurses and doctors.

Miss Nightingale, then in her eighty-eighth year, was too infirm to attend, and was represented by her nephew. Before that, in December, 1907, she received from King Edward the English Order of Merit. The statutes had to be modified by the King in order to admit of her appointment and Queen Alexandra's own birthday was selected as the most suitable date for the bestowal of the honor. Florence Nightingale, the daughter of William Shore Nightingale, a wealthy English landowner in Florence, Italy, was born in that city in 1820 and from that city she took her given name. When a mere child she returned with her parents to England where she lived on her father's estate of Lea Hurst, Derbyshire. She was highly educated, being thoroughly at home in the French, German, and Italian languages. Her inclination toward philanthropy manifested itself early in life and she did much for the poor neighbors around her English home. She began her life work by entering as a pupil in the Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner at Kaiserwerth, near Dusseldorf-on-the-Rhine.

Here she acquitted herself in such a manner as to draw the highest praise from her teacher. In the early fifties she returned to London and devoted herself to labor in a hospital for sick governesses, where her health succumbed to the severity of her tasks. She had hardly recovered from the strain of this work when the greatest undertaking of her life was thrust upon her. The Crimean war had opened. England was engaged in the formidable task of trying to clip the claws of the Russian bear. Thousands of Englishmen were sent away to the Black Sea, where the rigors of Winter on that iron coast were such that, although the army never penetrated the country more than a day's march from the sea, the campaign almost failed through the breakdown of the chain of commissariat supplies, while in 1854 there were 18,000 men in the military hospitals. Her Work in the Crimea In the first stage of the Crimean not a woman nurse was employed in any of the military hospitals, for the class of women who had in the past been employed was so notoriously bad that the War Office decided not to send out any women nurses to the Crimea.

After the battle of the Alma, however, the country rang with indignation at the neglected condition of the sick and wounded soldiers. Stirred into action, Sir Sydney Herbert, Secretary of War, wrote to Miss Nightingale saying that she was the one woman to take charge of the organization of a corps of nurses. He offered her absolute authority in this department. Strangely enough, on the same day Miss Nightingale wrote offering her services. A few days later she sailed for the Crimea with thirty-four nurses, and the Government congratulated the country on having obtained her services. The women arrived just after the battle of Inkerman had been fought. There were 4,000 men in the hospitals, some wounded, but most of them sick. There are, of course, very few veterans of the war of the Crimea still alive, yet there have been in late years some who remembered the sweet and sympathetic face of Florence Nightingale, and who were never tired of telling about her noble work in the hospitals. It was not only in the details of nursing, but in the gentle and watchful care for his comfort that Miss Nightingale made herself a beautiful memory to the soldier.

She lent her aid to the surgeons when strong men turned away in horror, and sustained the courage of the wounded by her appeals to the ties which bound them to home. Nor was it in the hospitals alone that her unselfish energy and untiring devotion were felt. There was an invalids' kitchen, where appetizing food for the sick who could not eat ordinary fare was provided under Miss Nightingale's eye. She provided also laundries, where clean linen could be obtained. In company with the army Chaplains she established a library and a school room, where she had evening lectures to amuse the convalescents. She personally attended to the correspondence of the wounded, and in many ways fully earned the title conferred upon her by the soldiers--"The Angels of the Crimea." For a year and a half she labored in this field until her work there was no longer necessary. In August, 1856, she returned to Lea Hurst. A grateful country would have welcomed her royally, but she had no desire for public praise and shrank from his every manifestation. She arrived when she was least expected and eluded those who would have honored her. The Queen, however, was not to be denied.

She sent for Miss Nightingale to visit her at Balmoral and decorated her with her own hand. The Sultan of Turkey made her a valuable present. The English Government on behalf of the people was very practical in its expression of appreciation, and presented her with $250,000. Endows St. Thomas's Hospital She made herself still more popular by refusing to keep the money for her own needs, turning it over for the establishment of St. Thomas's Hospital. In this is the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. In recent years Miss Nightingale has been unable to give her personal attention to the school, but it was and still is conducted on the plan she devised. Ms. Nightingale at this time was the heroine of the hour.

Poems were written in her honor, songs and pianoforte pieces were dedicated to the "good angel of Derbyshire," playbills displayed her name beside that of Hamlet, grocers put her portrait on their bags as an advertisement, street minstrels found a Nightingale ditty a remunerative attraction, broadsheet ballads on "The Nightingale" were the fashion on Seven Dials, and young ladies in ringlets and spencers played the "Nightingale Varsoviana" in drawing-room circles. Some of the young women who entered the training school which Miss Nightingale founded were of the best social standing, moved to emulate Miss Nightingale's example. The probationers, or nurse pupils, are required to remain three years before they can become Protestant sisters. After this term of probation they usually know whether they have found their proper vocation. Although Miss Nightingale's health was never robust after her Crimean experience, nevertheless she contrived to write much that was of value. Her "Hospital Notes" have been remarkably successful, and her "Notes on Nursing" have had a circulation reaching into the hundreds of thousands.

She has written many more papers and reports, some for publication, some for the information of her Government. During the American civil war she was constantly consulted as to the management of field hospitals and great good came of her advice. In recent years Miss Nightingale has led a quiet life, the condition of her health not permitting activity. Hundreds of persons have constantly expressed a desire to visit her, but she was able to receive only a few. She had, however, as distinguished a company of sympathetic correspondents as any woman in Europe. She was a personal friend of Lord Napier, of the Duke of Cambridge, and of Lord Wolseley. Both Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra were in the habit of sending regularly to her home to inquire about her health. In her youth Miss Nightingale had a great desire to study medicine, but then the profession was closed to women. The injustice of the exclusion ranged her on the side of those who later started the propaganda for opening the professions to women. She has also been a lifelong exponent of woman's suffrage. In 1890 England formally celebrated the great nurse's birthday. There were meetings and speeches at various towns, and the Prince of Wales presided at the ceremonies at the Training School for Nurses.

The chorus of praise which reached her ears as she sat in her invalid's chair at the completion of threescore years and ten was such as few women have enjoyed in the history of the world. Perhaps the greatest good that has resulted from her noble life has been the setting in motion of a force which has led thousands of women to devote themselves to systematic care of the sick and wounded. Florence Nightingale - Women’s History - HISTORY.com Florence Nightingale A+E Networks Introduction Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy on May 12, 1820. During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform. In 1860 she established St. Thomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. She died August 13, 1910, in London. Google Early Life Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. She was the younger of two children. Nightingale’s affluent British family belonged to elite social circles.

Her mother, Frances Nightingale, 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. She preferred to avoid being the center of attention whenever possible. Strong-willed, Florence often butted heads with her mother, whom she viewed as overly controlling. Still, like many daughters, she was eager to please her mother. “I think I am got something more good-natured and complying,” Florence wrote in her own defense, concerning the mother-daughter relationship. Florence’s father was William Shore Nightingale, a wealthy landowner who had inherited two estates—one at Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, and the other in Hampshire, Embley Park—when Florence was five years old. Florence was raised on the family estate at Lea Hurst, where her father provided her with a classical education, including studies in German, French and Italian. From a very young age, Florence Nightingale was active in philanthropy, ministering to the ill and poor people in the village neighboring her family’s estate. By the time she was 16 years old, it was clear to her that nursing was her calling.

She believed it to be her divine purpose. When Nightingale approached her parents and told them about her ambitions to become a nurse, they were not pleased. In fact, her parents forbade her to pursue nursing. During the Victorian Era, a young lady of Nightingale’s social stature was expected to marry a man of means—not take up a job that was viewed as lowly menial labor by the upper social classes. When Nightingale was 17 years old, she refused a marriage proposal from a “suitable” gentleman, Richard Monckton Milnes. Nightingale explained her reason for turning him down, saying that while he stimulated her intellectually and romantically, her “moral…active nature…requires satisfaction, and that would not find it in this life.” Determined to pursue her true calling despite her parents’ objections, in 1844, Nightingale enrolled as a nursing student at the Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserwerth, Germany. Career In the early 1850s, Nightingale returned to London, where she took a nursing job in a Middlesex hospital for ailing governesses.

Her performance there so impressed her employer that Nightingale was promoted to superintendant within just a year of being hired. The position proved challenging as Nightingale grappled with a cholera outbreak and unsanitary conditions conducive to the rapid spread of the disease. Nightingale made it her mission to improve hygiene practices, significantly lowering the death rate at the hospital in the process. The hard work took a toll on her health. She had just barely recovered when the biggest challenge of her nursing career presented itself. In October of 1853, the Crimean War broke out. The British Empire was at war against the Russian Empire for control of the Ottoman Empire. Thousands of British soldiers were sent to the Black Sea, where supplies quickly dwindled. By 1854, no fewer than 18,000 soldiers had been admitted into military hospitals. At the time, there were no female nurses stationed at hospitals in the Crimea. The poor reputation of past female nurses had led the war office to avoid hiring more.

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. 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. Nightingale rose to her calling. 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. Although 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. The hospital sat on top of a large cesspool, which contaminated the water and the hospital building itself. Patients lay on in their own excrement on stretchers strewn throughout the hallways. Rodents and bugs scurried past them. The most basic supplies, such as bandages and soap, grew increasingly scarce as the number of ill and wounded steadily increased.

Even water needed to be rationed. More soldiers were dying from infectious diseases like typhoid and cholera than from injuries incurred in battle. The no-nonsense Nightingale quickly set to work. She procured hundreds of scrub brushes and asked the least infirm patients to scrub the inside of the hospital from floor to ceiling. Nightingale herself spent every waking minute caring for the soldiers. In the evenings she moved through the dark hallways carrying a lamp while making her rounds, ministering to patient after patient. The soldiers, who were both moved and comforted by her endless supply of compassion, took to calling her “the Lady with the Lamp.” Others simply called her “the Angel of the Crimea.” Her work reduced the hospital’s death rate by two-thirds. In additional to vastly improving the sanitary conditions of the hospital, Nightingale created a number of patient services that contributed to improving the quality of their hospital stay. She instituted the creation of an “invalid’s kitchen” where appealing food for patients with special dietary requirements was cooked. She established a laundry so that patients would have clean linens. She also instituted a classroom and a library, for patients’ intellectual stimulation and entertainment.

Based on her observations in the Crimea, Nightingale wrote Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army, an 830-page report analyzing her experience and proposing reforms for other military hospitals operating under poor conditions. The book would spark a total restructuring of the War Office’s administrative department, including the establishment of a Royal Commission for the Health of the Army in 1857. Nightingale remained at Scutari for a year and a half. She left in the summer of 1856, once the Crimean conflict was resolved, and returned to her childhood home at Lea Hurst. To her surprise she was met with a hero’s welcome, which the humble nurse did her best to avoid. 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. Nightingale decided to use the money to further her cause. In 1860, she funded the establishment of St. Thomas’ Hospital, and within it, the Nightingale Training School for Nurses.

Nightingale became a figure of public admiration. Poems, songs and plays were written and dedicated in the heroine’s honor. Young women aspired to be like her. Eager to follow her example, even women from the wealthy upper classes started enrolling at the training school. Thanks to Nightingale, nursing was no longer frowned upon by the upper classes; it had, in fact, come to be viewed as an honorable vocation. Later Life While at Scutari, Nightingale had contracted “Crimean fever” and would never fully recover. By the time she was 38 years old, she was homebound and bedridden, and would be so for the remainder of her life. Fiercely determined, and dedicated as ever to improving health care and alleviating patients’ suffering, Nightingale continued her work from her bed. Residing in Mayfair, she remained an authority and advocate of health care reform, interviewing politicians and welcoming distinguished visitors from her bed. In 1859, she published Notes on Hospitals, which focused on how to properly run civilian hospitals. Throughout the U.S. Civil War, she was frequently consulted about how to best manage field hospitals.

Nightingale also served as an authority on public sanitation issues in India for both the military and civilians, although she had never been to India herself. In 1908, at the age of 88, she was conferred the merit of honor by King Edward. In May of 1910, she received a congratulatory message from King George on her 90th birthday. Death and Legacy In August 1910, Florence Nightingale fell ill, but seemed to recover and was reportedly in good spirits. A week later, on the evening of Friday, August 12, 1910, she developed an array of troubling symptoms. She died unexpectedly at 2 pm the following day, Saturday, August 13, at her home in London. Characteristically, she had expressed the desire that her funeral be a quiet and modest affair, despite the public’s desire to honor Nightingale—who tirelessly devoted her life to preventing disease and ensuring safe and compassionate treatment for the poor and the suffering. Respecting her last wishes, her relatives turned down a national funeral. The “Lady with the Lamp” was laid to rest in a family plot at Westminster Abbey.

The Florence Nightingale Museum, which sits at the site of the original Nightingale Training School for Nurses, houses more than 2,000 artifacts commemorating the life and career of the “Angel of the Crimea.” To this day, Florence Nightingale is broadly acknowledged and revered as the pioneer of modern nursing. Biography courtesty of Bio.com

Question: In which war did Florence Nightingale nurse wounded soldiers?
Answer: Crimean War