Clarissa Harlowe-Barton was born December 23, 1821, in Oxford Massachusetts. As a child she was shy, she first found her calling when she tended to her brother, David, after an accident. When she was 15, she became a teacher, which gave her an outlet to pursue her calling. Later she went on to open a free private school, in New Jersey. She moved to Washington, DC, to work in the US Patent office, as a clerk, in the mid-1850's.
During the American Civil War she sought out ways to help soldiers any way she could. At first, she collected and distributed supplies for the Union Army. But she wasn't content sitting on the sidelines, so she became an independent nurse & first saw battle at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1862. She also cared for the wounded at Antietam. For her work she was given the name, "the Angle of the Battlefield". When the civil war ended in 1865, Clara began working for the War Department, helping either to reunite soldiers and their families or find out more about those who went missing. She also became a lecturer and crowds gathered to hear her recount her experiences of war.
While travelling in Europe she established the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Some time after returning to the States she campaigned for an American branch of the organization to be created. The American Red Cross Society was founded in 1881 and Clara served as it's first president. She oversaw assistance and relief work for such disasters as the 1889 Johnstown Flood & 1900 Galveston Flood.
Clara resigned from the Red Cross in 1904, amid an internal power struggle and accusations of financial mismanagement. As president she had absolute power in the Red Cross but she was known to never take a salary from her work within the organization an often used it to aid relief efforts. After leaving the Red Cross, she continued lecturing and doing speeches. She died at home, in Glen Echo, Maryland, on April 12, 1912.
https://www.biography.com/people/clara-barton-9200960
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Women in Science, Medicine and Mathematics
Non-FictionWomen who have contributed to the fields of science, medicine and math. They paved the way for future generations, made groundbreaking discoveries, many times while being outshone or downtrodden by their male counterparts.
