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Hello and welcome to Home School History.

I'm Greg Jenner and I've spent my whole career making history fun on the TV show Horrible

Histories, and more recently on the BBC podcast You're Dead to Me, though that's mostly

for the grownups.

With everyone being cooped up in the house, I thought I'd deliver a snappy history

lesson to entertain and educate the whole family.

Who says that homeschooling can't be a bit of fun?

Today we are journeying back to the 19th century to meet the nursing reformer who transformed

healthcare forever.

Florence Nightingale

Florence was born exactly 200 years ago, on May 12, 1820, while her posh parents were

travelling around Europe.

She was named after the Italian city of Florence, where she was born, while her sister was

called Parthenope, after the ancient Greek name for Naples.

Back then these were really unusual baby names, it was like calling your children Sheffield

and Slau.

Florence's parents might have been well to do, but they were forward thinking I made sure

that she got a good education, which for the early 19th century was actually pretty rare

for a girl.

Unlike her sister, Florence had a very scientific mind.

She loved collecting coins and seashells, doing little experiments, and she was also a brilliant

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