Clara Barton | HistoryNet

On May 21, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. Many of us used this service when we were in the military or may need it in the future.

From the article:
"In 1872, nervous exhaustion caused Clara to temporarily lose her eyesight and she went to England to recuperate. The following October, she returned to the United States, though she did not make a full recovery until 1876 after going to a sanitarium in Dansville, New York, where she then made her home.

Following her recovery, Clara focused on publicizing the International Red Cross and garnering support for the American Red Cross, which was established May 21, 1881. She was elected its president a few weeks later. The newly formed organization sprang into action in the fall of 1881 when forest fires ripped through Michigan. It provided relief during many other natural disasters and epidemics in the U.S., including the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood in 1889. Clara directed many of the relief operations herself. The American Red Cross also provided international relief, helping victims of the Russian famine of 1892 and providing relief to Armenians living in Turkish-controlled Armenia in 1896, among other endeavors. In 1898, Clara herself traveled with nurses to Cuba during the Spanish-American War to nurse the wounded and provide supplies and food—she was 76 at the time."