Clara Barton

Clara Barton, also known as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” was an American nurse and humanitarian who lived during the 19th century. She is popularly known for founding the American Red Cross, but there’s more to her than just that!

Early Life

Clara was born in 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Since her childhood, she had great interest in helping others. She started by caring for her older brother David who was severely sick at the time. Clara proved to be an expert in making him feel better! Later, she became a teacher, but as it turned out, her expert hand at healing and caring for others was missing from her classes and it all went downhill from there…

Making a Name during the American Civil War

When the American Civil War erupted, Clara was quick to offer her help by nursing wounded soldiers. She started providing medical care to soldiers, braving the battlefield on several occasions. This lead to her earning the nickname of “Angel of the Battlefield,” because you know, who wouldn’t admire someone so crazy as to get close to bullets and bombs?

Women’s Rights Activist

Clara was passionate about women’s rights. She believed in the right to vote and take part in the democratic process. She also believed that more women should have the opportunity to enter traditionally male-dominated fields such as the military and medicine. To her, women were just as capable as men to risk their lives on the frontlines, exposing themselves to hostile fire and chemical warfare.

Founding the American Red Cross

With the end of the Civil War, Clara decided to use her experience as a nurse to help people in other contexts. So she decided to found the American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization that could provide aid to people in every disaster no matter how catastrophic -like, for example, a pesky tornado! She even oversaw the organization’s relief operations in times of national disasters until she eventually passed away at the age of 91 in 1912.

So, there you have it. Clara Barton was a woman with a kind heart, a love of adventure, and a passion for helping others – even in the most dangerous of circumstances. Definitely not the kind of person you’d call boring!