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Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Florence Nightingale stars in Trivial Fact of the Day
I don't know if this surprises you, but it surprised me.
We think of Florence Nightingale as a mid-19th century figure because of her rise to fame in the Crimean War. Yet she lived to the age of 90 and did not die until 1910.
Although she changed the character of nursing, she was not alone. Mary Seacole worked close to and on the battlefields in Crimea while FN was working in Scutari, a sea voyage away.
She does seem to have done quite a lot to discredit Mary Seacole and certainly saw her as a competitor.
That said FN's greatest contribution was in public health statistics and the graphical represntation of statistics. A number of the charts we take for granted these days were first published in her public health works. However, that is not nearly so romnatic as wandering through wards with a lamp.
She was also the first female member of the Order of Merit.
Although she changed the character of nursing, she was not alone. Mary Seacole worked close to and on the battlefields in Crimea while FN was working in Scutari, a sea voyage away.
ReplyDeleteShe does seem to have done quite a lot to discredit Mary Seacole and certainly saw her as a competitor.
That said FN's greatest contribution was in public health statistics and the graphical represntation of statistics. A number of the charts we take for granted these days were first published in her public health works. However, that is not nearly so romnatic as wandering through wards with a lamp.
She was also the first female member of the Order of Merit.