Clara Barton

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American founder of the Red Cross. She served as a nurse during the Franco-Prussian war in Europe, from 1870-1871, where she observed the International Red Cross at work. When she returned to the U.S. in 1873, she began to press for an American Red Cross. Nine years later she achieved her goal, serving as the first president for 22 years. Clara was born in a farmhouse to a vivid family. Her fiery mother was a feminist long before her time, two of her siblings became school teachers and her dad was a farmer with a philanthropic streak. Though bright and courageous, Clara tended to be plump and had a slight lisp, adding to her painful shyness. To help her learn to be outgoing, her parents sent her out to tutor local kids and nurse poor families and she began to learn a sense of self-worth in helping others. Well educated, she began work at 18 as a school teacher. In 1850 (at age 29) she enrolled at a teaching academy but her mom died a few months later and Clara fell into the first of several major breakdowns. When these episodes occurred, her voice gave out, her eyesight faltered and she took to bed, contemplating suicide. One of her collapses, in late middle age, lasted for a full two years. She became the first female clerk in the U.S. Patent Office in 1854. During the Civil War, from 1861-1865, she went to the field, where she nursed and worked, gaining the name of "Angel of the Battlefield." Overwhelmed by a social conscience, she wrote of feeling useless and helpless, feelings that contributed to her nervous breakdowns. High-strung and controlling, she exhausted herself and everyone around her, see-sawing between period of astonishing productivity and total collapse. Unstoppable when others were in need, she used her brains, her wits and whatever manipulation was necessary to get the job done. Barton died on 4/12/1912, Echo Glen, MD. Link to Wikipedia biography