We know her as Clara Barton, but her full name is Clarissa Harlowe Barton. She was named after a character from the novel Clarissa or the History of a Young Lady, which her aunt was reading when Clara was born in 1821.
– Clara became a teacher at the age of 16. Later, when she was 30, she opened a free school in Bordentown, New Jersey.
– She also had a job as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office.
– When the Civil War began, she worked as a battlefield nurse. One of the soldiers to whom she tended told her, “This is the second time you saved my life.” He then explained that she had been his teacher in New Jersey.
– Clara was first introduced to the International Red Cross when she visited Switzerland while recovering from a nervous breakdown after the war. She suggested starting an American Red Cross to President Chester Arthur, he loved it. Clara was named its first president in 1881.
Her property is closed due to much needed rennovations.
http://www.mentorpl.org/10-interesting-facts-about-clara-barton-the-founder-of-the-american-red-cross/