Statistics & Evidence Based Healthcare
Benjamin Jowett, 1817-1893
Display No. 98
Benjamin Jowett was Master of Balliol College, Oxford and believed strongly in the use of statistics in medicine. He and Nightingale tried to create a new Professorship of Statistics at Oxford, but others did not share their enthusiasm, and the first Professor of Statistics was not appointed until 1948.
Jowett’s friendship with Nightingale spanned 30 years and their correspondence provides insight into Nightingale’s character. He worried about her reclusiveness and the impact it had on friends and family, and he also noted that reprimanding her was “like pouring cold water on a red hot iron and producing a terrible hissing”.
Exhibits from ‘Statistician & Evidence Based Healthcare’
Discover the 200 Exhibits
Nightingale is respected worldwide for her pioneering role in developing the nursing profession, her statistical work, and her evidence-based approach to healthcare. In honour of her bicentenary the World Health Organisation have named 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
In our special exhibition, you will find out about objects, people and places which tell interesting stories about Florence’s life and legacy. You’ll discover artefacts from her life, people she both inspired and challenged, and places she helped to shape. There’s many more insights too!
Please click on the different sections of her famous coxcomb diagram to explore various aspects of her life and legacy. We hope you enjoy exploring!