Today in History 05/21/18

Clara Barton, founder of the American branch of the Red Cross, circa 1881 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Image)(1881) Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross
Called “The Angel of the Battlefield” for her courageous service as a Civil War nurse, Clara Barton establishes an American branch of the Red Cross relief organization after working with an international unit in Europe during the Franco-Prussian War.
Clarissa “Clara” Harlowe Barton was a pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and patent clerk. Nursing education was not very formalized at that time and she did not attend nursing school, so she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work at a time when relatively few women worked outside the home.
Born: Dec 25, 1821 · Oxford, MA
Died: Apr 12, 1912 · Glen Echo, MD
Founded: American Red Cross · National First Aid Society · American Association (20th century)
Siblings: Stephen Barton (Brother) · Sarah Barton Vassall (Sister) · David Barton (Brother) · Dorothea Barton (Sister)
Parents: Sarah Barton (Mother) · Stephen Barton (Father)
Highlights
  • 1821: Barton was born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts.

  • 1868: She closed the Missing Soldiers Office in 1868 and traveled to Europe.

  • 1869: In 1869, Clara Barton closed the Missing Soldiers Office and headed to Europe.

  • 1897: In 1897, responding to the humanitarian crisis in the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the Hamidian Massacres, Barton sailed to Constantinople and after long negotiations with Abdul Hamid II, opened the first American International Red Cross headquarters in the heart of Turkey.

  • 1900: Barton’s last field operation as President of the American Red Cross was helping victims of the Galveston hurricane in 1900.

  • 1912: On April 12, 1912 at the age of 90, she died in her home.

Clara Barton 1904
Clara Barton (1821–1912), founder of the American Red Cross
wiki/Clara_Barton
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(1881) Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross.
Also on this day,
1927 | Lindbergh crosses Atlantic
1955 | Birth of rock guitar
1992 | MTV gets “Real”

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