Florence Nightingale, statistics and the Crimean War

Summary The paper presents Florence Nightingale’s statistical work on the Crimean War, beginning with her iconic polar area charts. These are then adapted to give a more accurate portrayal of the relative causes of war hospital deaths. French statistical reports comparing British and French Army deaths are reported.

The contention in the secondary literature that Nightingale was responsible for the high death rates in the war hospitals is rebutted, with comparative death rate data from the different hospitals.