Happy 199th birthday to Florence Nightingale

Aziz Inan

12 May 2019

Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer and statistician, and the pioneer and founder of modern nursing [1].

Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 in Florence, Italy and died on 13 August 1910 in Mayfair, London, England, at age 90.

In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world, and is now part of King’s College London. In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing, the Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses, and the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, were named in her honor, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday.

Nightingale’s social reforms include improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding the acceptable forms of female participation in the workforce.

Last Sunday, 12 May 2019, marked Nightingale’s 199^th birthday, one year before her bicentennial birthday. It is a wonderful coincidence that last Sunday was also Mother’s Day. Though Nightingale did not have children, some may consider her a mother-like figure due to her pioneering work in nursing that contributed significantly to humanity. To express my gratitude for her exemplary humanitarian work, I am honored to construct the following numerical curiosities for Florence Nightingale.

1. Nightingale was born in 1820 and died in 1910 and interestingly, twice the rightmost three digits of 1910, namely 910, yields 1820.
2. The sum of the digits of Nightingale’s birthday 12/05/1820 equals 19 and note that there are 19 letters in her name, Florence Nightingale.
3. Furthermore, 12/05/1820 was the 133^rd day of 1820 and 133 divided by the sum of its digits, namely 7, results in 19.
4. The digits of Nightingale’s new age, namely 199, add up to 19 too.
5. Additionally, the sum of the squares of the digits of 199 equals 163 and the reverse of 163, namely 361, is 19 square.
6. The rightmost two digits of 2019, the year Nightingale turns 199, is 19 too. Further, the leftmost two digits of 2019, namely 20, equals 7 plus 13 and note that 7 and 13 are the prime factors of 91 and 91 is the reverse of 19.
7. Nightingale died 272 days before her 91^st birthday in 1911 and the prime factors of 272, namely 2 and 17, add up to 19. Also, the sum of the digits of 1911 is 12 and 1911 divided by the reverse of 12, namely 21, equals 91.
8. The middle two digits of 1910, the year Nightingale died, is 91 too.
9. If numbers 1 to 26 are assigned to letters A to Z, the sum of the letter numbers of Nightingale equals 106 and the prime factors of 106, namely 2 and 53, add up to 55. Interestingly, if Nightingale’s birthday 12/05/1820 is split as 12, 05, 18, and 20, these four numbers add up to 55.
10. Furthermore, if 12/05/1820 is split as 1205 and 1820, the sum of these two numbers equals 55 x 55.
11. Moreover, two 55’s adds up to 110, the 110^th prime number is 601, and 601 is the reverse of 106 (Nightingale).
12. Nightingale’s new age 199 is the 46^th prime number and 46 plus its reverse, namely 64, equals 110 too. Also, 4 times 46 equals 184 and 184 is the sum of the letter numbers of Florence Nightingale.
13. Nightingale died in 1910 on 13/8 and the sum of 13 and 8 equals 21 and 21 is the reverse of 12, the day number of her birth date. Additionally, 13 minus 8 yields 5, the month number of her birth.
14. Also, the sum of the squares of 12 and 5, the day and month numbers of Nightingale’s birth date, equals 13 square and 13 is the day number of her death. Further, the sum of the digits of 12/5 equals 8, the month number of her death.
15. Nightingale died on the 225^th day of 1910 and 225 equals 15 square. Note that 15 equals 5 plus 5 plus 5 and interestingly, 5 x 5 x 5 equals 125, her birth date (12/5).
16. Nightingale’s 198^th birthday occurred on 12/5/2018 was special because if split as 12, 5, and 2018, the sum of the squares of 12 and 5 equals 169 and twice the 169^th prime number, namely 1009, yields 2018.
17. Nightingale’s 200^th birthday will occur in 2020 and the sum of the prime multipliers of 2020, namely 2, 2, 5, and 101, equals 110 (see item # 11). Additionally, the reverse of 2020, namely 202, equals 200 plus its reverse, namely 002. Also, if 2020 is split as 20 and 20, half of 20 times 20 yields 200.
18. Just like her 1^st and 101^st birthdays, Nightingale’s 201^st birthday in 2021 expressed as 12/5/21 will be a palindrome date.
19. Lastly, Nightingale turned palindrome age 171 in palindrome year 1991 and note that 171 divided by the sum of its digits, namely 9, equals 19. Her 292^nd birthday will occur in 2112.

Happy 199^th birthday to Florence Nightingale!

[1] Florence Nightingale, Wikipedia

Aziz Inan is chair and professor teaching in the electrical engineering program of Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering at University of Portland and he can be reached at [email protected].