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Clara Barton’s life spanned almost a century – 90 years to be exact. And what years they were!
During Barton’s lifetime, the steamship and train got their start. So did the automobile and airplane. Less important, but just as essential to the happiness of many young people, was the construction of the first Ferris wheel. Not to mention the invention of the ice-cream soda. Over the course of Barton’s life, 23 presidents lived in the White House. As Barton grew more and more famous, she met some of these men face to face. But she was not allowed to vote for even one of them! A few of these presidents helped her realize her dreams of helping others. The events of this period helped shape Clara Barton’s life. At the same time, her actions affected the lives of others.
▲ 1821
Emma Willard opens the first school to offer college-level courses for women.
1826 ▶
America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson (right), dies on July 4. This is the same day as the nation’s second president, John Adams.
◀ 1823
More than 60,000 fans cheer for their horses at the Union Race Course in Long Island, New York. This was the biggest sporting event in the U.S. at the time.
1839 ▶
Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber after accidentally dropping a mixture of rubber and sulfur on a hot stove. Early uses for this new product included the rubber suit and waterproof blankets. They also included ponchos and hats. These things were all used by soldiers during the Civil War.
◀ 1831
Virginia slave Nat Turner launches a rebellion. The rebellion leads to harsher laws for slaves in the South. It also leads to greater awareness of slavery’s evils in the North.
1848 ▶
Flakes of gold found at John Sutter’s Mill ignite the California Gold Rush.
◀ 1842
New York City issues the first gummed postage stamps.
1860 ▶
Abraham Lincoln is elected president.
◀ 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel about the cruelty of slavery, sells 300,000 copies in its first year. The book fuels Northern hatred of slavery.
▲ 1857
Amateur baseball clubs in New York form the first association for the sport.
1861 ▶
The Civil War begins.
◀ 1865
The Civil War ends as Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union general Ulysses S. Grant. The surrender takes place at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
1874 ▶
The ice-cream soda is invented in Philadelphia.
▲ 1883
The Brooklyn Bridge, called the eighth wonder of the world, is opened by President Chester A. Arthur.
1901 ▶
President William McKinley is assassinated. Theodore Roosevelt (right) becomes president.
◀ 1893
Passengers ride the first Ferris wheel, at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
1912 ▶
The luxury liner S.S. Titanic sinks in icy Atlantic waters after striking an iceberg – two days after Clara Barton died.
◀ 1903
The Wright brothers’ airplane stays aloft for 12 seconds at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina.
1830
Sent away to boarding school
1832
Nurses her brother David
1839
Passes teaching exam
1853
Starts free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey
1854
Works at U.S. Patent Office
1861
Begins relief work during Civil War
1862
Receives permission to transport supplies to the battlefield
1865
Starts work of finding missing soldiers
1869
Goes to Europe and learns about the International Red Cross
1870
Serves as Red Cross worker in Franco-Prussian War
1881
Founds American Red Cross and becomes its first president
1882
U.S. Senate ratifies the Geneva Convention, after a five-year campaign by Barton
1898
Brings aid to Cuban detainees and American soldiers in Spanish-American War
1907
Publishes The Story of My Childhood
April 12, 1912
Dies at age 90
