Whose Work Founded Modern Nursing?

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), she led a team of nurses to British military hospitals in Turkey, where she dramatically reduced death rates through improved sanitation and hygiene. Her statistical analysis of mortality data — presented in innovative polar area diagrams — was groundbreaking. In 1860 she established the Nightingale Training School at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the first secular nursing school. Her book Notes on Nursing (1859) remains influential.