Clara Barton | |
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Born | Clarissa Harlowe Barton December 25, 1821 |
Died | April 12, 1912 Glen Echo, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 90)
Resting place | North Cemetery in Oxford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Nurse, humanitarian, founder and first president of the American Red Cross |
Relatives | Elvira Stone (cousin) |
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Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very formalized and she did not attend nursing school, she provided self-taught nursing care.[1] Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time before women had the right to vote.[2] She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.[3]