1821-1912

American Founder of the American Red Cross, Teacher and Social Reformer

Clara Barton served as a nurse during the American Civil War, but her primary contributions to the war effort were to the monumental task of obtaining supplies, organizing relief efforts for wounded soldiers, and identifying the dead and wounded. After the war, she created an organization to search for missing men. However, Clara Barton is best known for her role in founding the American Red Cross.

Barton was born in Oxford, Massachusetts. She was the youngest child of Stephen Barton, a prosperous farmer and leader in public affairs. Clara's early education was principally at home under the direction of her brothers and sisters. When Barton was sixteen she became a schoolteacher. She later completed her own education at Clinton, New York. She opened the first free school in Bordentown with...