May 12 - International Nurses Day

Posted on May 12, 2022

Key Points

This is an update of my post published on May 12, 2011:

This is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, a famous English nurse (born on this day in 1820). That’s the reason that the International Council of Nurses chose this day to honor all nurses everywhere. Note that May 6 was National Nurses Day, and the whole week from May 6 to May 12 is Nurses Week.

Last chance to reach out to the nurses you and your family know and say a big THANK YOU! Give a card, flowers, or pie to your favorite nurse.

Learn about “The Lady with the Lamp”

Florence Nightingale tended to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. Later she started the first secular nursing school in the world, in London, England. She was a gifted mathematician, and she was a pioneer in presenting statistics through pie charts and other diagrams. She made a comprehensive statistical study of sanitation in Indian rural life, and she successfully lobbied to improve the situation in India. She was elected the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society and contributed to the women’s movement.

This remarkable woman has been honored, not just with a special Nurses Day, but also with her name memorialized in schools of nursing, hospitals, and foundations. There are statues and monuments of Nightingale, and there is even at least two stained glass windows. Two different Florence Nightingale Museums have exhibits about her life and her legacy.