Florence Nightingale was a reference hygienist and statistician for Pedro Felipe Monlau

e202202008

Abstract

Pedro Felipe Monlau was a prominent Spanish hygienist and defender of the Miasmatic Theory of Diseases. By the nineteenth-century, Spain had not enough health infrastructure. Monlau’s publications became a powerful source of transmission of the dominant scientific ideas of European hygienism. Levy, Londe, Villermé, Chadwick, Farr and Smith were personalities who influenced the thinking of the Spanish hygienist. The aim of this paper is to show whether the Florence Nightingale’s hygienist doctrine influenced Spain through the work of Monlau. A review of primary documentary sources was carried out and the results were analysed from the hermeneutic perspective. The Digital Newspaper Library of the National Library of Spain was used as the main resource. Monlau referred to Nightingale eleven times. Nine fragments responded to Monlau’s Hygienic Aphorisms. He recommended Nightingale’s ideas regarding ventilation, lighting and housekeeping, among others. In addition, Monlau suggested the need for hospital statistics following Nightingale’s proposal. In this sense, the surgeon Rubio y Galí was a clear example of its applicability in the Institute of Therapeutic Surgery. Monlau also recognized the work of Nightingale in the Crimean War. The results show the need to make women scientists visible in contemporary history, revisiting the biographies written so far.