Clara Barton wanted to help people from the time she was a child. She turned her compassion for others into several careers, including teaching and nursing. Risking her life to assist soldiers during the Civil War turned her into an American hero. She went on to found the American Red Cross.

Time For Kids® Biographies help make a connection between the lives of past heroes and the events of today. Clara Barton created an organization that helps the needy and the injured during national crises and natural disasters. We still benefit from her greatest work—the Red Cross—today.