2) Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
Pioneering nurse and advocate for sanitary sleeping environments.
Nightingale’s insistence on cleanliness and healthy hospital environments laid groundwork for modern sleep hygiene principles—clean spaces, quiet, and predictable routines. Her legacy reminds us that safe sleep starts with the basics: fresh air, clean linens, and organized rooms—principles that still echo in today’s evidence-based sleep guidance for families and communities in Maryland.