Florence Nightingale and William Farr

Photocopies of correspondence by or relating to Florence Nightingale.

The majority of the letters are between Florence Nightingale and the medical statistician William Farr (nos.1-20).

Nos.21-22 comprise material dating from after Farr's death - no.21 a note asking for Nightingale's good wishes to be passed on to Farr's daughter, and no.22 a letter from Nightingale to his daughter Florence Farr.

No.23 comprises a letter to William Farr by Nightingale's "Aunt Mai" (Mary Smith), about Florence Nightingale.

Nos.24-28 comprise fragments of letters by Nightingale, possibly to Farr.

Nos.29-33 comprise material dating from after Nightingale's death: nos.29-30 letters from her solicitors to Farr's daughter Mary concerning the payment of a legacy, no.31 a cutting from the Daily Telegraph describing Nightingale's will, and nos.32-33 letters to Farr's daughter Emily asking about any surviving Nightingale / Farr correspondence.

1857-1912

2 files (32 items)

Copies taken with the permission of the owner of the original letters (a descendant of William Farr), June 2002.

William Farr (1807-1883), medical practitioner and statistician, was a friend and colleague of Florence Nightingale; they collaborated in providing statistical evidence for sanitary reform, especially in connection with the Army Sanitary Commission and the Indian Sanitary Commission. He was born in Kenley, Shropshire, on 30 November 1807 and studied medicine in Paris 1829-1831 and at University College London 1831-1832. In 1832 he passed L.S.A. and settled in London as a medical practitioner. In 1838 he was appointed to produce abstracts of data for the Registrar-General and continued to work here until his resignation and retirement in 1879. He was also a prominent figure in the Statistical Society. He died on 14 April 1879. See his entry in the Dictionary of National Biography for more details.

For information on the life and career of Florence Nightingale see the record for MSS.5471-5484, 6930 and 8991-9109.

At Wellcome Collection:

Other Nightingale material can be found at MSS.5471-5484, 6930 and 8991-9109; in particular, MS.5474 comprises 128 letters between Farr and Nightingale, spanning the period 1858-1875. MS.7204, comprises manuscript notes of conversations with Florence Nightingale taken by another of her co-workers, her relative the poet Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861).

Copyright in these letters remains with their owner.

Originals held by a descendant of William Farr.