The early life of Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 into a wealthy and well-connected British family at the Villa Colombaia, in Florence, Tuscany, Italy, and was named after the city of her birth.

Florence and her family moved back to England in 1821, with Nightingale being brought
up in the family’s homes at Embley, Hampshire, and Lea Hurst, Derbyshire.

Florence inherited a liberal-humanitarian outlook from both sides of her family. Her
parents were William Edward Nightingale, born William Edward Shore (1794–1874)
and Frances (“Fanny”) Nightingale née Smith (1788–1880). William’s mother Mary
née Evans was the niece of Peter Nightingale, under the terms of whose will William
inherited his estate at Lea Hurst, and assumed the name and arms of Nightingale.
Fanny’s father (Florence’s maternal grandfather) was the abolitionist and Unitarian
William SmithNightingale’s father educated her.

The BBC states:

“Florence and her older sister Parthenope benefited from their father’s advanced ideas about women’s
education. They studied history, mathematics, Italian, classical literature and philosophy, and from an early age Florence, who was the more academic of the two girls, displayed an extraordinary ability for collecting and analysing data which she would use to great effect in later life.”

In 1838, her father took the family on a tour in Europe where he was introduced to
the English-born Parisian hostess Mary Clarke, with whom Florence bonded. She
recorded that “Clarkey” was a stimulating hostess who did not care for her
appearance, and while her ideas did not always agree with those of her guests, “she
was incapable of boring anyone.” Her behaviour was said to be exasperating and
eccentric and she had no respect for upper-class British women, whom she regarded
generally as inconsequential.

She said that if given the choice between being a woman or a galley slave, then she would
choose the freedom of the galleys. She generally rejected female company and spent her
time with male intellectuals. Clarkey made an exception, however, in the case of the Nightingale
family and Florence in particular. She and Florence were to remain close friends for 40 years
despite their 27 year age difference. Clarke demonstrated that women could be equals to men,
an idea that Florence had not obtained from her mother.

Working as a nurse

Nightingale underwent the first of several experiences that she believed were calls
from God in February 1837 while at Embley Park, prompting a strong desire to
devote her life to the service of others. In her youth she was respectful of her family’s
opposition to her working as a nurse, only announcing her decision to enter the field
in 1844. Despite the intense anger and distress of her mother and sister, she rebelled
against the expected role for a woman of her status to become a wife and mother.
Nightingale worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing, in the
face of opposition from her family and the restrictive social code for affluent young
English women.

As a young woman, Nightingale was described as attractive, slender and graceful.
While her demeanour was often severe, she was said to be very charming and to
possess a radiant smile.

Her most persistent suitor was the politician and poet Richard Monckton Milnes, but
after a nine-year courtship she rejected him, convinced that marriage would interfere
with her ability to follow her calling to nursing. In Rome in 1847, she met Sidney Herbert,
a politician who had been Secretary at War (1845–1846) who was on his honeymoon.
He and Nightingale became lifelong close friends. Herbert would be Secretary of War again
during the Crimean War, when he and his wife would be instrumental in facilitating
Nightingale’s nursing work in the Crimea. She became Herbert’s key adviser throughout his
political career, though she was accused by some of having hastened Herbert’s death from
Bright’s Disease in 1861 because of the pressure her programme of reform placed on him.
Nightingale also much later had strong relations with academic Benjamin Jowett, who
may have wanted to marry her.

Nightingale continued her travels (now with Charles and Selina Bracebridge) as far
as Greece and Egypt. While in Athens, Greece, Nightingale rescued a juvenile little
owl from a group of children who were tormenting it, and she named the owl Athena.
Nightingale often carried the owl in her pocket, until the pet died (soon before
Nightingale left for Crimea).

Her writings on Egypt, in particular, are testimony to her learning, literary skill, and
philosophy of life. Sailing up the Nile as far as Abu Simbel in January 1850, she
wrote of the Abu Simbel temples:

“Sublime in the highest style of intellectual beauty, intellect without effort, without suffering … not a feature is correct — but the whole effect is more expressive of spiritual grandeur than anything I could have imagined. It makes the impression upon one that thousands of voices do, uniting in one unanimous simultaneous feeling of enthusiasm or emotion, which is said to overcome the strongest man.”

At Thebes, she wrote of being “called to God”, while a week later near Cairo she
wrote in her diary (as distinct from her far longer letters that her elder sister
Parthenope was to print after her return): “God called me in the morning and asked
me would I do good for him alone without reputation.”

Later in 1850, she visited the Lutheran religious community at Kaiserswerth-am-Rhein in Germany,
where she observed Pastor Theodor Fliedner and the deaconesses working for the sick and the
deprived. She regarded the experience as a turning point in her life, and issued her findings anonymously
in 1851; The Institution of Kaiserswerth on the Rhine, for the Practical Training of Deaconesses, etc. was her
first published work. She also received four months of medical training at the institute, which formed the
basis for her later care.

On 22 August 1853, Nightingale took the post of superintendent at the Institute for
the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in Upper Harley Street, London, a position she held
until October 1854. Her father had given her an annual income of £500 (roughly
£40,000/US$65,000 in present terms), which allowed her to live comfortably and to
pursue her career.

In 1838, her father took the family on a tour in Europe where he was introduced to
the English-born Parisian hostess Mary Clarke, with whom Florence bonded. She
recorded that “Clarkey” was a stimulating hostess who did not care for her
appearance, and while her ideas did not always agree with those of her guests, “she
was incapable of boring anyone.” Her behaviour was said to be exasperating and
eccentric and she had no respect for upper-class British women, whom she regarded
generally as inconsequential. She said that if given the choice between being a
woman or a galley slave, then she would choose the freedom of the galleys. She
generally rejected female company and spent her time with male intellectuals.
Clarkey made an exception, however, in the case of the Nightingale family and
Florence in particular. She and Florence were to remain close friends for 40 years
despite their 27 year age difference. Clarke demonstrated that women could be
equals to men, an idea that Florence had not obtained from her mother.
Nightingale underwent the first of several experiences that she believed were calls
from God in February 1837 while at Embley Park, prompting a strong desire to
devote her life to the service of others. In her youth she was respectful of her family’s
opposition to her working as a nurse, only announcing her decision to enter the field
in 1844. Despite the intense anger and distress of her mother and sister, she rebelled
against the expected role for a woman of her status to become a wife and mother.
Nightingale worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing, in the
face of opposition from her family and the restrictive social code for affluent young
English women.
As a young woman, Nightingale was described as attractive, slender and graceful.
While her demeanour was often severe, she was said to be very charming and to
possess a radiant smile. Her most persistent suitor was the politician and poet
Richard Monckton Milnes, but after a nine-year courtship she rejected him, convinced
that marriage would interfere with her ability to follow her calling to nursing.
In Rome in 1847, she met Sidney Herbert, a politician who had been Secretary at
War (1845–1846) who was on his honeymoon. He and Nightingale became lifelong
close friends. Herbert would be Secretary of War again during the Crimean War,
when he and his wife would be instrumental in facilitating Nightingale’s nursing work
in the Crimea. She became Herbert’s key adviser throughout his political career,
though she was accused by some of having hastened Herbert’s death from Bright’s
Disease in 1861 because of the pressure her programme of reform placed on him.
Nightingale also much later had strong relations with academic Benjamin Jowett, who
may have wanted to marry her.
Nightingale continued her travels (now with Charles and Selina Bracebridge) as far
as Greece and Egypt. While in Athens, Greece, Nightingale rescued a juvenile little
owl from a group of children who were tormenting it, and she named the owl Athena.
Nightingale often carried the owl in her pocket, until the pet died (soon before
Nightingale left for Crimea).
Her writings on Egypt, in particular, are testimony to her learning, literary skill, and
philosophy of life. Sailing up the Nile as far as Abu Simbel in January 1850, she
wrote of the Abu Simbel temples, “Sublime in the highest style of intellectual beauty,
intellect without effort, without suffering … not a feature is correct — but the whole
effect is more expressive of spiritual grandeur than anything I could have imagined. It
makes the impression upon one that thousands of voices do, uniting in one







unanimous simultaneous feeling of enthusiasm or emotion, which is said to
overcome the strongest man.”
At Thebes, she wrote of being “called to God”, while a week later near Cairo she
wrote in her diary (as distinct from her far longer letters that her elder sister
Parthenope was to print after her return): “God called me in the morning and asked
me would I do good for him alone without reputation.” Later in 1850, she visited the
Lutheran religious community at Kaiserswerth-am-Rhein in Germany, where she
observed Pastor Theodor Fliedner and the deaconesses working for the sick and the
deprived. She regarded the experience as a turning point in her life, and issued her
findings anonymously in 1851; The Institution of Kaiserswerth on the Rhine, for the
Practical Training of Deaconesses, etc. was her first published work. She also
received four months of medical training at the institute, which formed the basis for
her later care.
On 22 August 1853, Nightingale took the post of superintendent at the Institute for
the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in Upper Harley Street, London, a position she held
until October 1854. Her father had given her an annual income of £500 (roughly
£40,000/US$65,000 in present terms), which allowed her to live comfortably and to
pursue her career.
Crimean War
Florence Nightingale’s most famous contribution came during the Crimean War,
which became her central focus when reports got back to Britain about the horrific
conditions for the wounded. On 21 October 1854, she and the staff of 38 women
volunteer nurses that she trained, including her aunt Mai Smith,[21] and 15 Catholic
nuns (mobilised by Henry Edward Manning)[22] were sent (under the authorisation of
Sidney Herbert) to the Ottoman Empire. Nightingale was assisted in Paris by her
friend Mary Clarke.[23] They were deployed about 295 nautical miles (546 km; 339
mi) across the Black Sea from Balaklava in the Crimea, where the main British camp
was based.
Nightingale arrived early in November 1854 at Selimiye Barracks in Scutari (modern-
day Üsküdar in Istanbul). Her team found that poor care for wounded soldiers was