Florence Nightingale birth anniversary: The Lady with the Lamp who founded modern nursing during Crimean War – News9 LIVE

She wrote 'Notes on Nursing' (1859) which is generally described as a classic introduction to nursing. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

New Delhi: Every year on May 12, the world celebrates International Nurses Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, someone who dedicated her life to helping others and stands as a shining example of humanity. The The Lady with the Lamp, as she is famously known was a social reformer and pioneer of modern nursing who showed during the Crimean War that human civilisation can best progress if we help each other, if we have empathy in our hearts and the aim to reach out to those who are in need. In this article, we will look back at the life of this gargantuan personality who became a beacon of compassion at a time of crisis.

Also read: Why is International Nurses Day celebrated?

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Italys Florence. Her family was a British one who had good connections in the upper echelons of society, and they returned to England in 1821. Nightangles family was liberal in their outlook, and the varied education that she got in her childhood would go on to help Nightangle immensely in the long run.

But despite her familys liberal views, when she announced her decision to become a nurse in 1944, it agitated her mother and sister greatly, as Florence did not conform to the conservative thought that women of her status should become wives and mothers only. Despite her familys opposition, Florence studied with great passion to learn the craft of nursing. It was not that Florence, a reportedly attractive woman, did not have her suitors, especially the politician and poet Richard Monckton Milnes. But she gave up the idea of marriage as it would interfere with her passion for nursing.

From October 1853 to February 1856, between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Sardinia-Piedmont were embroiled in a battle which is now known as the Crimean War. On October 21, 1854, she and the staff of 38 women volunteer nurses were sent to the Ottoman Empire, and the situation that they found there was appalling.

The medical staff was stretched in the face of the humungous challenge of caring for the dead soldiers, the officials could not care less about the situation, the lack of medicines, and nobody bothered about hygiene which resulted in the spread of other infections.

Through The Times, Nightingale appealed for a government solution to the dilapidated facilities for the wounded soldiers. The British government asked Isambard Kingdom Brunel to design a prefabricated hospital that could be shipped to the Dardanelles. As a result, the Renkioi Hospital was built.

It is said that Nightingale brought down the death rate from 42 per cent to 2 per cent, either by improving overall hygiene herself or by calling for the Sanitary Commission. She reportedly started the practice of washing hands in the hospital where she worked.

Her experience during the Crimean War convinced Nightingale that sanitary living conditions are vital to lead a healthy life. It would help her to bring down peacetime deaths in the army and focus on the sanitary design of hospitals and the introduction of sanitation in working-class homes. Also, it was during the war that Nightingale got the nickname The Lady with the Lamp from a phrase in a report in The Times.

Nightingale did extensive social reforms in her later years as well. She wrote Notes on Nursing (1859) which is generally described as a classic introduction to nursing. Also, in the 1870s, she mentored Linda Richards, Americas first trained nurse, who would go on to become a nursing pioneer in the US and Japan.

Florences name and her works became well-known not just in Great Britain, but all over the world. She died in London, on August 13, 1910, at the age of 90, leaving behind her immortal legacy as the founder of the modern nursing profession.

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Florence Nightingale birth anniversary: The Lady with the Lamp who founded modern nursing during Crimean War - News9 LIVE