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Florence Nightingale - Statistics and sanitary reform

Florence Nightingale exhibited a gift for mathematics from an early age and excelled in the subject under the tutelage of her father. Later, Nightingale became a pioneer in the visual presentation of information and statistical graphics. She used methods such as the pie chart, which had first been developed by William Playfair in 1801. While taken for granted now, it was at the time a relatively novel method of presenting data.

The image is an example from the Crimean War by way of The Royal Society.

More from Scientific American:

How Florence Nightingale Changed Data Visualization Forever

In the summer of 1856 Florence Nightingale sailed home from war furious. As the nursing administrator of a sprawling British Army hospital network, she had witnessed thousands of sick soldiers endure agony in filthy wards….Nightingale arrived back in London determined to prevent similar suffering from happening again. It would be an uphill slog. Many government leaders accepted the loss of common soldiers as inevitable….Resolute, Nightingale set out to sway the minds of generals, medical officers and parliamentarians. Their poor data literacy muted statistical arguments that could have oriented them toward the facts. Nightingale, with her quantitative mind, had to persuade people with common understanding but uncommon standing. Her prime target throughout this effort was the head of the British Army, Queen Victoria.

And an expert offers a balanced view:

The real goods and the oversell

To many, Florence Nightingale is a hero. But like all heroes, elements of her story have been exaggerated. Lynn McDonald, editor of Nightingale’s collected works, sorts fact from fiction.


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  1. David Lilienfeld on July 3, 2024 6:39 pm

    Nightingale appears to be a creation (from a statistical analysis perspective) of her lover,Sir William Farr, who was the Director of the Office of the Registrar General. Maybe Nightingale would have completed her analyses on her own–but there is no indication that such is the case. That Farr could have undertaken these analyses there is no doubt.

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