Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was a British social reformer and the founder of modern nursing, famed for her work improving sanitary conditions during the Crimean War.
Nightingale defied her wealthy family's expectations to pursue nursing, a profession then considered unsuitable for women of her class. During the Crimean War, she led a team of nurses to army hospitals, where she dramatically reduced death rates by improving hygiene and sanitation.
She became known as 'The Lady with the Lamp' for her nighttime rounds checking on wounded soldiers. After the war, she used statistical analysis, including pioneering visual data charts, to advocate for hospital reform.
In 1860, she founded the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London, establishing nursing as a respected, formally trained profession that continues to shape healthcare systems worldwide.