1-155-930 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Florence Nightingale, English nurse and hospital reformer, c1850s. Named after the place of her birth in Italy, Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) devoted her life to the sick and suffering. She volunteered for duty in the Crimean War (1854-1856), and whilst at the hospital barracks at Scutari, she drastically reduced the mortality rate by imposing a strict discipline and high standards of sanitation. In 1859, she wrote 'Notes on Nursing', and in 1861 she founded the St Thomas's School of Nursing in London.