Nightingale in the Crimean War

Date: October 21, 1854 • Location: London, United Kingdom

Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses and 15 nuns were sent to the Ottoman Empire to help treat wounded British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War.

Florence Nightingale 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 ward rounds for wounded soldiers at night.