Clara Barton, 1821-1912

Clara Barton's portrait taken during the civil war. Photo credit - Library of Congress

A nurse, humanitarian and an educator, the founder of the American Red Cross.

Clara Barton was born in Massachusetts. When she was ten, she started practicing her nursing skills when taking care of her older brother for two years after he fell from a roof and got severely injured; she even learned how to place leeches on his body. Barton’s parents encouraged her to become a teacher to overcome her shyness. At 24, Barton founded a school for workers’ children and later established the first free school in New Jersey. When the school became successful, the board replaced her with a man, and Barton got demoted, so she quit.

Barton moved to Washington, DC, and started working as a clerk in the US Patent office; she was the first woman appointed to such a position in a federal office and got equally paid as her male colleagues. When the Civil War began, she quit her job to support the Union soldiers. Barton distributed supplies and served as an independent nurse, and therefore received the nickname ‘The angel of the battlefield.’

After the war, she established the Office of Missing Soldiers, helping identify soldiers, reunite them with their families, or arrange burials.
The office has became a museum.

After learning about the International Red Cross while traveling in Europe, Barton started lobbying and building support to establish an American chapter of the organization. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881, with Barton serving as its first president.
At the age of 83, after she was forced to resign from the Red Cross due to autocratic leadership, Barton founded the National First Aid Society.

Barton remained an activist for human rights and the women’s suffrage movement, giving lectures until her last years. She also published an autobiography. The Clara Barton National Historic Site, established in 1975, was the first National Historic Site in the U.S. honoring the legacy of a woman.

 

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“I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay.”

“I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay.”

Fun Facts

  • She was born on Christmas Day in 1821.
  • Her favorite color was red.
  • She never officially learned nursing.
  • She volunteered the Red Cross in the Franco-Prussian War.
  • She never got married, but had a great love with a married officer during the civil war.
  • A statue of her was built in Santiago after the Spanish–American War.
  • Many schools, streets, and institutions in the U.S. are named after her.

Awards

  • Honorable decorations of the Golden Cross of Baden and the Prussian Iron Cross
  • She was honored with a commemorative stamp
  • She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973

Creations By and About Her

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Category: Activism & Feminism, Business & Entrepreneurship, and Health
Tags: 19th Amendment Centennial Anniversary, Educator, Nurse, Suffragist, The Pioneering Women of the Penn Quarter Neighborhood, and WDC Metro Area Women

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Arts

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