1-157-252 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Florence Nightingale, British nurse and hospital reformer, at Scutari Hospital, Turkey, writing letters for wounded soldiers of the Crimean War, 1855. 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. After Barraud.