Early Life
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12th, 1820. Her family was very wealthy and expected Florence to follow the "normal" traditions of a women from her tiime period. Most women during this time were supposed to hold a healthy marriage and live a life that was normal for an Upperclass Victorian Woman. However, Florence was interested in other things. Nursing became one of her common interests. Florence liked to visit the poor and help them throughout their struggles, but mostly she liked to look after sick people. Her parents did not like her interest in nursing because nurses were considered low class. These standards upset Nightingale because she thought the oppurtunity for women of her social circle was lacking. Despite her parents wishes she went to hospitals around London to search for possible jobs for women in the London community. She then was very influenced by the way other parts of England valued nursing. She then went to Kaiserwerth, Germany for nurse training. Once she came home she continued visiting London hospitals. Because of Nightingales fortunate social class and broad education she was able to make all of this happen.