A brief history of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing

A rare recording of "The Lady with the Lamp" inspires a look back at the specifics of her revolutionary work

Florence Nightingale looks in on her patients
(Image credit: Illustrated London News / Stringer/ Getty Images)

Florence Nightingale, born on May 12, 1820, became a nurse at a time when the profession was considered a degrading occupation and hospitals were cesspools of disease. Nightingale changed that. Her meticulous and tender dedication to healthcare, as seen in her day-to-day work as well as her published writings, including Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not and Notes On Hospitals, helped to elevate the nursing profession and change hospital layouts, among other things. That her techniques and best practices seem common to us today only proves the debt owed to "The Lady with the Lamp."

Listen to a rare 1890 recording of Nightingale here, and learn more about the pioneering nurse's life in the podcast above.

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Lindsey Kratochwill

Lindsey Kratochwill is a digital production assistant at TheWeek.com where she edits podcasts and videos. She also co-hosts a podcast for Popular Science and has written for Popular Science, Fast Company, and The Guardian, among other publications. She's an unapologetic science nerd and an apologetic Floridian.