Florence Nightingale’s name is synonymous with nursing. During the Victorian era, Nightingale pioneered hygiene and sanitation, exporting her ideas worldwide and saving countless lives. She wrote more than 200 books and is accredited not only with inventing modern nursing, but advancing statistics and mathematics at a time when women rarely reached the higher echelons of education. Despite her incredible accomplishments, modern society has begun to characterise her as a bigot and a racist. Florence Nightingale’s legacy has been rewritten and her achievements erased. Here are some paragraphs from my upcoming book:
“Upon her return to Britain from the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale was determined to help the soldiers who had fought and died under her country's flag. Her testimony before the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army revealed the shocking state of hospitals in which British soldiers were treated. They were dirty, overcrowded, and lacked nutritious food, causing unnecessary deaths. Her efforts brought about a monumental change. Nightingale introduced significant reforms that led to the creation of the nursing profession we know it today. These changes not only benefited soldiers but also launched new hygiene standards in all areas of life, including the homes of the poorest.
The Nightingale Fund, established in 1855 with the help of former Secretary of War Sidney Herbert, was used to set up the Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas Hospital in London. Today, a museum in her honour is located at the hospital, and the Nightingale Nurse and Midwife Award is given to the most deserving nursing graduates each year. Her legacy is still celebrated in many quarters, and her significant contributions to the nursing profession continue to inspire and guide new generations of healthcare professionals.
Before her time, the world did not much consider nursing as a profession, and it was largely carried out by untrained women from various backgrounds, usually widows.
Nightingale published books on the subject that inform how the nursing operates still. People from all over the world emulated her ideas and practices and introduced them to their own countries. She exported nursing the United States and revolutionised medical treatment there. She linked hygiene to health, and hospitals and healthcare settings implemented her innovative ideas and practices in the far reaches of the British Empire, aiding vast sanitation improvements in India, for example.
Back in England, she lobbied to imposed sanitation obligations on landlords, helping to transform life for the country’s poorest people. Arguably, Florence Nightingale was as instrumental in lengthening life expectancy as any scientist or doctor. Her accomplishments are so significant that they are unquantifiable.
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The BBC runs a series of "historical" programmes designed for young people called Horrible Histories. These programmes aim to teach children about gruesome events like wars and diseases in a way that isn't overly upsetting. In one episode, Florence Nightingale was the focus, and the BBC depicted her as a petty, small-minded woman and a racist. To support this portrayal, the figure of Mary Seacole was introduced as a contrasting character but with a similar legacy. However, according to many historians, Mary Seacole has been elevated to a status that simply does not reflect reality. British school textbooks contain “facts” about Seacole that are simply false, and these have facilitated a reversal in how students view Nightingale and Seacole today. While Mary Seacole is often credited as a pioneer of nursing, the truth is she did not work in the field, and never established herself in the newly emerging nursing profession.
It is a shocking truth that UK schools are teaching falsehoods to children about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. According to Professor Lynn McDonald, students are expected to repeat these fictions during exams, wherein they are asked to describe Seacole's life. To pass, students’ answers must include at least five of eight “facts” determined by examiners. McDonald claims that five out of eight of these "facts" are outright falsities, while the other three are misleading. One of the falsehoods taught in schools is that Seacole opened a hospital, when in reality, she opened a hotel. McDonald's research has uncovered numerous books that present these fictions as truth. Additionally, images of Seacole depict her in a blue and white nurse’s uniform that didn't exist during her lifetime.
In the short Horrible Histories film, we meet Mr. Whiteley (white lie) who is stunned to learn that Mary Seacole has not achieved the same level of fame and popularity as Nigthingale, and the only reason presented for this discrepancy is race. Society celebrates Nightingale because she is white, and Seacole lesser so because she is black. Also presented in a matter-of-fact manner is Nightingale’s questionable character; she is depicted as a bigot and what can only be described as a spoiled brat.”
Next week we look at Emmeline Pankhurst, Suffragette leader and outspoken Communism critic. She, too, has faced posthumous accusations of racism and is rarely acknowledged favourably by mainstream modern-day feminism.