The Lady with the Lamp

1820 Florence Nightingale ('The Lady with the Lamp'; d. August 13, 1910), English nurse during the Crimean War. A pioneer of modern nursing, she was also a writer (Cassandra; Notes on Nursing: What Nursing Is, What Nursing is Not; Suggestions for Thought (to Searchers after Religious Truth); Mysticism and Eastern Religions) and noted statistician. A Christian universalist, she played an active role in the reform of the British Poor Laws, extending far beyond the provision of medical care.

In her later life, Nightingale made a comprehensive statistical study of sanitation in rural India and was the leading figure in the introduction of improved medical care and public health service in that country.

Florence Nightingale was named after the city in Italy in which she was born to English parents. Until then, Florence was an uncommon name, and for males only. Her fame and the respect with which she was esteemed by the British popularized her name as one for girls.

Several churches in the Anglican Communion commemorate Nightingale with a feast day on their liturgical calendars. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates her, with Clara Maass (1876 - 1901), as a 'Renewer of Society', on August 13.

Country Joe's tribute
American singer-songwriter, Country Joe McDonald, of Country Joe and the Fish, best known for performing 'I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag' at Woodstock, is an expert in the life of Nightingale, and has written an extensive online tribute to her.

Categories: health, history, uk, biography