Florence Nightingale is among the personalities I have always admired. I admire her tremendously for the care and love she showed to sick and poor.
Florence Nightingale was born to English parents’ in 1820. Her parents were there on a visit to the town of Florence in Italy. So they named her Florence. Soon after her birth, the family returned to England.
Florence never went to school. She was taught by her parents and a tutor at home. She grew up to be different from other girls of her age, always thoughtful and serious. One of the things that distressed Florence was the suffering of the sick and the poor. She felt that god wanted her to devote her life to serving them.
Florence Nightingale is best known for her service during the Crimean war, which broke out in 1853. British soldiers had been sent to Crimea, in Eastern Europe, to fight against the Russians. Florence volunteered to go there with a group of nurses to help care for hundreds of soldiers wounded in the war.
In Crimea, Florence showed great devotion in looking after the wounded. It was common to see her carrying an oil lamp and walking through wards to make sure they had attention they needed. For this, she was named “The Lady with the Lamp” and she earned much respect from her patients.
After the war, Florence Nightingale returned home. Back in England, she continued to contribute nursing profession. She gave talks on nursing and founded Nightingale School of Nurses at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London. Florence died in 1910 at the age of 90. Today, she continues to be a source of inspiration for nurses around the world.
Vocabulary
Tremendous—immensely
Distressed—troubled
