- Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. She was named after the city.
- Florence’s parents were very rich. She had an older sister named Parthenope.
- Florence’s childhood was happy. She did not go to school but she was a good student. Her father taught her foreign languages, history and math. Florence wanted to nurse the sick.
- Florence read books and reports about health and hospitals and became an expert to treat the sick and make them better.
- When she was 26, Florence went to Germany to visit a nursing school in Kaiserswerth. Then she went to Paris, France, London to work as a nurse.
- In 1854, Nightingale heard about the bad conditions for soldiers injured in the Crimean War between Britain and Russia and went to Scutari to help the injured soldiers.
- They called Nightingale “The lady with the lamp” because she walked around the hospital every night comforting patients.
- When the war ended in 1856, Nightingale was famous. Even Queen Victoria wanted to meet her. In 1860, she set up the Nightingale School for Nurses in London.
- Nightingale became sick and suffered from Crimean Fever, she was often bedridden over the rest of her life.
- She died in 1910. During her life, nursing had become a respected profession. Her birthday is celebrated as International Nurses Day.
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