Clara Barton

25 December 1821 – 12 April 1912

Clara Barton (1821-1912) was an American nurse, humanitarian, and founder of the American Red Cross. Known as the 'Angel of the Battlefield' for her care of Union soldiers during the Civil War, she led the American Red Cross for more than two decades.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Clara Barton.

Life events

Born in North Oxford, Massachusetts
25 December 1821

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born on Christmas Day, the youngest of five children of Stephen and Sarah Barton.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Began work as a schoolteacher
c. 1839

Barton started teaching school in Massachusetts at the age of about 17.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Opened a free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey
1852

Barton established one of the first free schools in New Jersey, which grew rapidly under her leadership.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Became a clerk at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C.
1854

Barton was one of the first women to hold a salaried clerkship in the federal government.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Began nursing and supplying Union soldiers in the Civil War
April 1861 – 1865

After the Baltimore Riot, Barton organized relief for wounded soldiers and later delivered supplies and nursing care at the front lines.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Tended the wounded at the Battle of Antietam
17 September 1862

Barton brought supplies and nursed soldiers at Antietam, service that contributed to her nickname 'Angel of the Battlefield'.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Ran the Office of Missing Soldiers
1865 – 1868

With President Lincoln's authorization, Barton led an office that helped identify and locate tens of thousands of missing Union soldiers.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Founded the American Red Cross
21 May 1881

Barton established the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., and served as its first president.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Resigned as president of the American Red Cross
1904

After more than two decades leading the organization, Barton stepped down amid criticism of her management.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Died in Glen Echo, Maryland
12 April 1912

Barton died of pneumonia at her home in Glen Echo at the age of 90.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓