Clara (Clarissa) Barton

born December 25, 1821, died April 12, 1921

Before Clara Barton was the "Angel of the Battlefield", she was a
school teacher. The school she founded 1852 in Bordentown, New Jersey
was so successful that authorities deemed it proper to hire a man to be
in charge. Barton resigned, and moved to Washington. It was as an 
unpaid nurse that Barton discovered the serious need for efficiently 
delivered first aid equipment on the battle field.  She privately 
advertised for donations of materials, and personally delivered 
them to the front, thereby circumventing the official bureaucracy. 
Barton established an organization to track missing soldiers, and 
successfully determined the whereabouts of 13,000 missing soldiers. 
It was while Barton was in Europe recovering from a work-related 
breakdown, that she joined forces with the International Committee of 
the Red Cross. In 1882, she founded the American Red Cross, and 
served as its president until 1904.