On This Day

Florence Nightingale, with a staff of 38 nurses, is sent to the Crimean War

Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing.

Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople. She significantly reduced death rates by improving hygiene and living standards. Nightingale gave nursing a favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

Recent commentators have asserted that Nightingale's Crimean War achievements were exaggerated by the media at the time, but critics agree on the importance of her later work in professionalising nursing roles for women.

Historical Significance

Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing.

Key People

Florence Nightingale

founder of modern nursing

English founder of modern nursing

Events Before

  1. The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

    The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

  2. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il trovatore" (The Troubadour) premieres in Rome

    Il trovatore ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the Spanish play El trovador (1836) by Antonio...

  3. Emperor and French President Napoleon III marries Eugenie de Montijo, Countess of Teba

    Eugénie de Montijo was Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 September 1870.

  4. Piano company Steinway & Sons is founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City

    Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway ( ), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E.

  5. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premieres at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy

    La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.

Events After

  1. British preacher and Salvation Army founder William Booth (26) weds British Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Mumford

    British preacher and Salvation Army founder William Booth (26) weds British Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Mumford (26) at Stockwell Green Congregational Church in Surrey, England

  2. Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart (22) weds Flora Cooke in Fort Riley, Kansas

    Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart (22) weds Flora Cooke in Fort Riley, Kansas

  3. Scottish explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall, which he christens as Vic

    Scottish explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall, which he christens as Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River in Barotseland, Africa (now Zambia and Zimbabwe)

  4. Clipper "Guiding Star" disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead

    Clipper "Guiding Star" disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead

  5. First bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today known as the Father Louis He

    First bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today known as the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge

More from the 1850s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 21, 1854?
Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople. She significantly reduced death rates by improving hygiene and living standards.
Why is Florence Nightingale, with a staff of 38 nurses, is sent to the Crimean War significant?
Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing.
Who was involved in Florence Nightingale, with a staff of 38 nurses, is sent to the Crimean War?
Key figures include Florence Nightingale (founder of modern nursing).

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