FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND MEDICAL STATISTICS IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND:
A lecture by Dr Eileen Magnello at the Florence Nightingale Museum.

On Wednesday 24 January the Florence Nightingale Museum welcomes Dr
Magnello to present the ninth lecture in our evening series. Dr Eileen
Magnello is a Research Associate in the History of Medicine with the
Wellcome Unit at the University of Manchester.

This lecture is supported by Maths Year 2000 and has also been organised
in conjunction with the London Festival of Maths.

Statistics is a hugely important aspect of Nightingale s life work,
often overshadowed by her dedication to nursing during the Crimean War.
Nightingale showed great enthusiasm for mathematics from a young age and
once commented that she believed statistics to be the  most fascinating
of all reading . She applied this passion for statistics and
organisation to reports on the state of the British Army throughout the
Empire. The Royal Commission s campaign, behind which Nightingale
provided the driving force, boasted the best Army statistics in Europe
and helped towards improving the state in barracks and hospitals. Her
work proved that  a soldier in barracks was twice as likely to die from
disease than an individual member of the public . Nightingale s
statistical work also did much to enhance the nursing profession and
procure fundamental changes to nursing. For such valued contribution she
was elected to the prestigious Statistical Society in 1860, the first
woman to receive this accolade.

Putting Nightingale into the wider context of other eminent Victorian
statisticians, this lecture will also look at individuals such as
William Farr, Francis Galton and Karl Pearson. The legacy of the
nineteenth century statisticians is widely recognised; the century
witnessed considerable progress in the study of mathematics and its
subsequent application enhanced and facilitated a variety of situations.
Does Florence Nightingale deserve to be celebrated as widely for her
achievements as a leading statistician, as the extent of her acclaim as
the founder of professional nursing?

Evening Lecture 24 January 2000

Reception from 5:00pm in the Museum.
This includes a private view of the Museum and a glass of wine.
Lecture starts at 6:30pm in the McSwiney Lecture Theatre, St. Thomas
Hospital.

Tickets for the evening cost stlg10 and stlg7.50 for concessions.
For further information contact Helen Sellars
tel: 020 7620 0374  fax: 020 7928 1760
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
*    *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *    *  *

The Florence Nightingale Museum
Florence Nightingale is famous around the world for her influence on
modern nursing, but she herself was more than just a nurse.........if
that s possible.  The Florence Nightingale Museum takes you on a trip
through the life of a remarkable Victorian woman, and enables visitors
to discover how her work in the Crimea was only a fraction of her
achievement.  Personal artefacts, a life-size reconstruction of a
Crimean ward scene and a twenty minute audio-visual presentation join
together to reveal the hidden person, from a serious and solitary child
to an internationally recognised figure. Displays on the Nightingale
training school offer a unique glimpse into the establishment of
professional nurse training from 1860, and copies of the statistical
diagrams she produced to aid her campaign for better health care in the
British Army can also be seen.
The Museum provides complimentary guided tours at 2pm and 3pm each
weekday afternoon to allow visitors to gain a more personal insight of
the Museum collection.
The Museum, located in St. Thomas  Hospital, is easily reached from
Westminster and Waterloo stations.

Admission Charges:
                    Group rates (pre-booked groups of 11 or more)
Adult - stlg4.80               Adult - stlg4.30
Child - stlg3.60               Child - stlg1.50
Concs - stlg3.60               Concs - stlg2.80
Family - stlg10.00
(Family: 2 adults and 2 children, or 1 adult and 3 children)

Opening Times:
Monday - Friday: 10.00 - 17.00
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday: 11:30 - 16:30
(last admission one hour before closure)
Closed: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, 24th December - 2nd January.

Travel:
Underground stations: Westminster, Waterloo, Lambeth North
Mainline Station: Waterloo
Bus: 12, 53, 77, 159, 211, 507

The Florence Nightingale Museum Trust
2 Lambeth Palace Road, London, SE1 7EW
+44 (0)20 7620 0374 (tel.)  +44 (0)20 7928 1760 (fax)
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
                website: www.florence-nightingale.co.uk