It’s March 4th. This day in 1855, a British sanitary commission arrived in Istanbul to inspect a field hospital where soldiers were dying at alarming rates. Among the nurses treating the soldiers was Florence Nightingale, who would go on to make one of the most famous data analysis of the conditions at the hospital.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by writer Tim Harford to discuss Nightingales findings and how they influenced the world of data visualization — plus the perils of compelling graphics.

Tim’s podcast “Cautionary Tales” has a new season out now, which features the story of Nightingale. His newest book is “The Data Detective.”

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com

Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices