Also known as The Lady with the Lamp, Florence Nightingale was a notable nurse and statistician. Nightingale is considered a pioneer of modern nursing and regarded as a reformer of hospital sanitation.

Her legacy is celebrated each year in May with National Nurses Week, beginning on May 6 and concluding on May 12, Nightingale's birthday.

Despite the displeasure of her prominent and wealthy family, Nightingale chose to become a nurse, and after training, took her first nursing position as Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen in 1853. Just months later, the Crimean War broke out, a struggle between Russia and the alliance of France, Britain, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. Nightingale served in a hospital in Turkey during the war, making a name for herself after declaring that no man should die alone. She was the only female allowed in the ward at nights, earning the name of "The Lady with the Lamp."Florence Nightingale Museum: The Crimean War

During her time working in the war hospital, she made statistical charts showing the numbers of casualties that were caused by poor hospital conditions compared to those with serious wounds. This study led to increased sanitation in hospitals.Florence Nightingale Museum: The Royal Commission

In 1960, Nightingale opened the Nightingale Training School for nurses at the St. Thomas Hospital in London. The school provided education for nurses in a professional setting. While she was hands-on at the school, Nightingale continued to study and reform hospital sanitation and wrote several books regarding hospital reform and nursing.Florence Nightingale Museum: School for Nurses

Despite suffering from Crimean Fever, Nightingale continued to work and write and received the Royal Red Cross in 1883, as well as the Order of Merit in 1909. She passed away on August 13, 1910, at the age of 90.Florence Nightingale Museum: Old Age