3 Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was English, but she was born in Italy. Her parents named her Florence, after the city. Her family was rich, so Florence grew up with everything she wanted. When she became a young woman, her parents wanted her to get married. But Florence did not want to get married. She wanted to be a nurse. Her parents were angry. In those days, hospitals were dirty places. Respectable women did not work in hospitals. But Florence did not listen to her parents. She studied to be a nurse.Soon,she supervised a hospital for women in London. She was a great success.

In 1854, there was a war. Many British soldiers were in a hospital in Turkey.The hospital needed help.Florence Nightingale volunteered to go to Turkey. She brought 38 nurses to help her. When she got there, 42 percent of the soldiers in the hospital were dying. The hospital was very dirty. There was not enough food or clothing for the sick. Nightingale and her nurses started to clean and put the hospital in order. In just one month only 2 percent of the soldiers were dying! Nightingale worked 20 hours a day. Every night she walked around the hospital with her lamp. She comforted the sick soldiers. The soldiers loved her. They called her the “Lady with the Lamp.” Her story was in the newspapers in England, and she became famous.Even Queen Victoria,the queen of England,wanted to meet her.

After two years, Nightingale went back to England. She was very sick, but she still worked. She started a school for nurses. The school continues to this day. Nightingale never married. But she did not live alone. She had 60 cats. When she was 43, Nightingale became sick. She was in bed for the rest of her life. She continued to work to help others. She died at age 90. We remember Florence Nightingale because she helped make nursing the important profession that it is today.