1. Florence Nightingale was born to a wealthy family on 12th May, 1820 and she was named Florence after the place of her birth: Florence in Italy.
2. She lived in Derbyshire and Hampshire and she died in 1910.
3. Florence Nightingale was a nurse and she saved the lives of many soldiers during the Crimean War (1854-56).
4. She was dedicated to her profession and she worked hard day and night. She became known as the Lady with the Lamp as she carried a lamp to check on her patients throughout the night.
5. She met Queen Victoria in 1883 when she was awarded the Royal Red Cross medal.
6. She was the first-ever woman to be accepted into the Royal Statistical Society.
7. The Nightingale Pledge is named after her. This pledge is recited by nurses at the end of their training pinning ceremony.
8. She opened a school of nursing and wrote a book called Notes on Nursing.
9. King Edward VII gave Florence a special award called the Order of Merit in 1907. She was the first woman to receive this award and she changed the way that women were seen in the workplace.
10. Florence had a pet owl called Athena.
