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Clara Barton was born in 1821. She lived at a time when few American women had careers.
Most women married and had children, but Barton never did. Instead, she lived independently and supported herself. She had three major careers and several lesser-known ones. She began her working life as a teacher. Then she became a battlefield nurse. Later, when she was 59 years old, she founded the American Red Cross.
Although shy and quiet as a child, Barton overcame both these tendencies to become a public speaker. She talked to crowds large and small. She met with presidents, generals, and world leaders about the causes that concerned her. During her long life, her relief work took her to the battlefields of three wars. It also took her to cities and towns destroyed by hurricanes, floods, fires, and famines. Barton was known for her bravery as bullets whizzed around her. But she showed another kind of courage away from the battlefield. Time and again, Barton fought to help those in need. And she never stopped until she succeeded.
