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Clara Barton
Founder of The American Red Cross
 Clara
Barton was born on Christmas Day in 1821 on a small farm
in rural Massachusetts. A shy but determined girl, at
age 10, she nursed her severly injured brother back to
health. It was then that she discovered the joy and satisfaction
of nursing.
During
the American Civil War this "Angel of the Battlefield"
appointed herself to nurse the wounded soldiers, bringing
them food, water, blankets and bandages - and hope.
At
the end of the war, when she was 38, she traveled to Switzerland
where she met with the people of the fledgling International
Red Cross movement. The following year she worked with
the Red Cross to aid victims of the Franco-Prussian War.
Returning to the United States, she established the American
Red Cross despite the objections of powerful isolationist
groups. Under her leadership and inspiration, the Red
Cross provided aid during great disasters, including the
Johnstown flood of 1889. She later accepted an invitatation
to help victims of a religious war in Turkey, next to
a fire in Michigan, and then to the sinking of the Maine
at Havana - and on and on. Her awards included the Iron
Cross of Germany, the International Red Cross Medal and
the Cross of Imperial Russia.
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