Florence Nightingale
OM, RRC | | Born | 12 May 1820
Florence, Tuscany | Died | 13 August 1910 (aged 90)
Park Lane, London, United Kingdom | Nationality | British | Institutions | Selimiye Barracks, Scutari
King's College London[1] | Known for | Pioneering modern nursing | Notable awards | Royal Red Cross (1883)
Lady of Grace of the Order of St John (LGStJ)
Order of Merit (1907) |
Early life
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. She was the younger of two children. Nightingale's affluent British family belonged to elite social circles. Her mother, Frances Nightingale, hailed from a family of merchants and took pride in socializing with people of prominent social standing. Despite her mother's interest in social climbing, Florence herself was reportedly awkward in social situations. She preferred to avoid being the center of attention whenever possible. Strong-willed, Florence often butted heads with her mother, whom she viewed as overly controlling. Still, like many daughters, she was eager to please her mother. "I think I am got something more good-natured and complying," Florence wrote in her own defense, concerning the mother-daughter relationship.
Early life
Embley Park, now a school, was one of the family homes of William Nightingale.
Young Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 into a rich, upper-class, well-connected British family at the Villa Colombaia,[5] in Florence, Italy, and was named after the city of her birth. Florence's older sister Frances Parthenope had similarly been named after her place of birth, Parthenope, a Greek settlement now part of the city of Naples. The family moved back to England in 1821, with Nightingale being brought up in the family's homes at Embley, Hampshire and Lea Hurst, Derbyshire.[6][7]
Her parents were
