Florence Nightingale Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Although she came from a rich family, Florence Nightingale felt called to be a nurse and used her skills to help out in the Crimean War, which led to her spending the rest of her life improving nursing conditions. Florence belonged to a wealthy family, and unlike most girls of her generation, she achieved an excellent education. Florence Nightingale came into this world on May 12, 1820 (Bostridge 22), at the Villa Colombia (Dossey 3) in Florence, Italy (“Nightingale, Florence” 215), the city she was named after (Small 5). Out of two sisters, Florence was the younger one (Small 5), and she was born while her rich parents, William and Frances Nightingale, were exploring the continent on a lengthened honeymoon (Small 5). Florence’s British family belonged to a high social class (Biography.com …show more content…
Despite her mother’s enjoyment of social rising, Florence was uncomfortable in social situations and preferred to stay away from being the center of attention (Biography.com Editors 1). Stubborn, Florence often argued with her mother (Biography.com Editors 1), and they had a love-hate connection (Gill 353). Florence’s father, William Shore Nightingale, was a rich landowner who inherited two properties- one at Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, and the other in Hampshire, Embley Park (Biography.com Editors 1). The Nightingale’s spent most of their time at Embley Park and the summers at Lea Hurst (Huxley 15). Florence’s parents returned to Britain to settle on their estate at Lea Hurst when she was one (Huxley 14). Florence had done well in the warm Italian weather (Bostridge 23), but the first cold winter in England left Florence with a cough, sore throat, and extreme weight loss (Bostridge 23), which started the beginning of a sick childhood (Dossey