As a teen-ager, Florence Nightingale was tutored in mathematics by the great British\ mathematician, Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897), who later said she was the best student he'd ever had.

While initiating military nursing during the Crimean War (1854-56), Nightingale also initiated the military alottment system. Nightingale asked married soldiers in the hospital to put aside for their families a little of the money they might waste in drinking and gambling or spending on other women. Late at night, after her ardurous duties (nursing, supervising, doing paperwork), Nightingale wrote explanatory letters to the families, including the funds.

The "top Military brass" became ashamed at this extra duty left to a courageous overworked woman. So they created the military alottment system.

After retirement to England, Nightingale worked in seclusion, furthering the nursing profession (establishing several schools) and developing statistical methods for gathering data, while sketching fundamentals of a welfare state.

Florence once said, "Every one should study statistics, because it shows us God's plan for the Universe." If it were taught in this spirit, the subject might not be so hated, misunderstood, and abused.