Dubbed as the “Lady with the Lamp,” Florence Nightingale served her entire life taking care of the sick and the needy. 

Born on May 12, 1820, Nightingale was named after the city of her birth―Florence, Italy―and was raised by parents who belonged to the elite social circles of Europe. However, despite living a comfortable life, she found herself actively engaging with commoners and tending to the sick and poor. 

In 1844, Nightingale enrolled herself as a Nursing student at a Germany-based institution and in the early 1850s, she worked at a hospital in London. A year after, a cholera outbreak happened in the region and with the start of the Crimean War in 1853, she departed to Crimea (a peninsula in Eastern Europe) together with 34 other nurses to care for injured soldiers. 

The British base hospital in the peninsula was in its worst state when Nightingale and her team arrived. The water was contaminated, bugs and rodents were everywhere, and sanitary supplies were running out. Because of this, typhoid and cholera became the leading causes of soldiers’ deaths. 

To solve the problem, Nightingale and her team cleaned the hospital interior from floor to ceiling and created an “invalid’s kitchen” for patients with unique dietary needs. In the evenings, she conducted rounds and attended to patients through the dark corridors while holding a lantern. This was why soldiers referred to her as “the Lady with the Lamp” and “the Angel of Crimea.” Through her and her team’s efforts, the hospital’s mortality rate fell by two-thirds. 

The image of Florence Nightingale caring for wounded soldiers in the dark with her undying light has endured to this day, and it takes on more significance as May 12, her birthday, marks International Nurses’ Day. Now, with over millions of nurses in the frontlines of a global pandemic, it’s a great time to remember Nightingale’s legacy.