Florence Nightingale Quiz for Children - True or False
Updated: Jan 30
Think you know Florence Nightingale? Well, now is your chance to prove it!
We'll put your bonce to the test with ten bonce-tickling True or False questions.
Good luck!
Oh, you'll find all the answers at the very end of the quiz, no premature peeking though!
Question 1
True or False: Florence was named after the city in Italy.
Question 2
True or False: Florence took 28 Nurses with her to Scutari Hospital.
Question 3
True or False: Florence had a pet owl who travelled around in her pocket.
Question 4
True or False: When Florence first arrived at Scutari Hospital there were only 20 chamber pots (a chamber pot is basically a fancy potty for grown-ups) for 1000 patients.
Question 5
True or False: Florence wrote 100 books about nursing during her life.
Question 6
True or False: Florence's patients called her the 'Lady with the Lantern'.
Question 7
True or False: Florence's lantern was made from paper.
Question 8
True or False: Florence’s first-ever patient was a sheepdog who had a broken leg.
Question 9
True or False: Florence loved having her picture taken.
Question 10
True or False: The International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on Florence Nightingale's birthday (the 12th of May).
The answers are below this line - avoid spoilers and don't check until after you've finished the quiz!
Question 1
True! Florence’s parents were on their honeymoon in a city called Florence in Italy when she was born. So they named her after the city of Florence.
Question 2
False! She actually took 38 Nurses with her.
Question 3
True! The owl was called Athena. Florence rescued Athena after she had fallen out of her nest. This was in Athens, which led to the owl being dubbed 'Athena' after the Greek Goddess of war and wisdom. Athena - the owl, not the goddess - loved to stand on Florence’s shoulder or to snuggle in the pocket of her apron. When Florence travelled to Scutari Hospital Athena couldn't go with her, so she lived in the attic of Florence's family home instead.
Question 4
True! Yes, this is shockingly true. What a poopy wee-ridden mess the hospital must have been with so few toilets.
Question 5
False! She wrote a LOT more than 100 books about nursing. She actually wrote over 200 books. Florence was a legendary writer!
Question 6
False! Sorry, we were being a little tricksy with this answer. Injured soldiers called Florence 'The Lady with the Lamp'. This is because, when walking the wards at night to visit her patients, Florence carried a lamp to light her way.
Question 7
True! And this is what it looked like:
Question 8
True! Cap, the Sheepdog, had been hurt by some boys who had thrown rocks at him. His owner was worried he had broken his leg. But Florence found out it was just badly bruised and nursed the dog back to health.
Question 9
False! Florence did not like having her picture taken, nor did she enjoy sitting to have her portrait taken. In fact, she went out of her way to avoid publicity, which is probably why, for someone so famous, there are surprisingly few images of her.
Question 10
True! Florence had such a massive impact on modern Nursing that her birthday was chosen as International Nurses Day.
