An English nurse and hospital reformer who became superintendent of a women's hospital in London after finishing her training in Germany and France. In the Crimean War (1855-56) she volunteered for duty and took 38 nurses to Scutari, Turkey in 1854. She organised a barracks hospital after the Battle of Inkerman and by discipline and sanitation practices reduced the mortality rate in the hospital drastically. She returned to Britain in 1856 and formed an institution for training nurses with the proceeds of a £50,000 subscription was raised. She devoted many years to the question of army sanitary reform, improvement of nursing and to public health in India. Her book, Notes On Nursing (1859) went through many editions.
From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
The old Barrack Hospital at Scutari, Florence Nightingale's base during the Crimean War, is still in existence. Scutari was the Greek name for the district of Istanbul now known as Uskudar (pronounced ewskewdar). It is located on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus right opposite the peninsula of Stamboul which is where the main tourist sights (Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, Topkapi) are located. There is a good view from the balconies of Topkapi Palace across the Bosphorus to the old Barrack Hospital (now the Selimiye Barracks of the Turkish First Army Group) two miles away. If one wants to get closer, you can either drive the long way round to Ðsk¸dar over the Bosphorus bridge, or take the ferry. The latter goes from Emin–n¸ ferry landing, near the southern end of the Galata Bridge. The ferry costs about one UK pound and is usually quicker than a taxi as well as cheaper.