11. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was a social reformer who is perhaps best known today for founding the modern field of nursing. She trained nurses during England’s Crimean War. Her peers knew that she was going at night with a lamp and checking on her patients. When she returned to London, she established the nursing school for the famous St. Thomas Hospital, which laid the foundation for the professionalization of nursing. The school is now part of King’s College London. Today, the Florence Nightingale Medal is the highest achievement in the world for nurses, and new nurses regularly take the Nightingale Pledge.