Florence Nightingale ---------------------------------- The founder of modern nursing was a hygiene pioneer whose principles on how to improve health care still resonate today ---------------------------------- May 12, 1820: Born into wealthy British family in Florence, Italy, and named after city ---------------------------------- 1821: Family returns to England. Educated at home, Florence excels in mathematics and science ---------------------------------- 1837: “Call from God” prompts desire to Scutari to devote life to service of others ---------------------------------- 1849: Declines marriage proposal, believing her destiny lies outside wedlock ---------------------------------- 1850-51: Despite family opposition, Florence begins nursing training at religious institute in Germany ---------------------------------- 1853: Becomes superintendent at Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in London ---------------------------------- 1853: Crimean War breaks out between Russia and alliance of Turkish Ottoman Empire, France and Britain ---------------------------------- Appalling conditions in military hospitals set up in Scutari (now Üsküdar in Istanbul) reported to The Times of London by first modern war correspondent, William Howard Russell ---------------------------------- Oct 1854: After public outcry, Sidney Herbert, Secretary of State at War, appoints Nightingale to take team of 38 nurses ---------------------------------- 1854-55: Nightingale greatly improves comfort of wounded soldiers at Selimiye Barracks, but deaths continue to rise ---------------------------------- Image of The Lady with the Lamp, checking on soldiers at night, captures public imagination and propels her to fame ---------------------------------- 1855: Discovery that barracks are built on sewer leads to thorough cleansing and improved ventilation. Death rate falls ---------------------------------- 1856: Crimean War ends. Nightingale returns to England in poor health and suffering from exhaustion ---------------------------------- 1858: With support of Queen Victoria, Nightingale establishes Royal Commission to improve army health Her statistical data result in extensive reforms Nightingale pioneers data visualization to show high proportion of deaths caused by disease (blue) as opposed to battle wounds (red) ---------------------------------- 1859: Notes on Nursing aims to teach people how best to care for sick relatives ---------------------------------- 1860: Founds nursing school at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London ---------------------------------- 1862: Establishes school for midwives at King’s College Hospital Florence Nightingale with graduating class of nurses ---------------------------------- 1880s: Campaigns for improved medical care and public health service in India ---------------------------------- 1907: First woman to receive Order of Merit, for distinguished service ---------------------------------- 1910: Dies at age 90 ---------------------------------- Turkish fanoos lamp carried by Florence Nightingale on her nightly rounds in Scutari ---------------------------------- Florence Nightingale receiving wounded at Scutari ---------------------------------- © GRAPHIC NEWS Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, BBC Pictures: Newscom, National Portrait Gallery, AP, Getty Images