International Nurses Day, annual observance held on May 12 that commemorates the birth in 1820 of Florence Nightingale, the foundational philosopher of modern nursing.

• The event, established in 1974 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), also serves to highlight the important role nurses fulfill in health care.
• Nightingale became an important figure in nursing in the 1850s during the Crimean War.
• International Nurses Day 2023 will be celebrated on the theme 'Our Nurses, Our Future.'