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 Trumbull
County Red Cross
Mercer County
Red Cross
Who
founded the Red Cross?
The Red Cross idea was born in 1859, when Henry Dunant,
a young Swiss man, came upon the scene of a bloody
battle in Solferino, Italy, between the armies of
imperial Austria and the Franco-Sardinian alliance. Some
40,000 men lay dead or dying on the battlefield and the
wounded were lacking medical attention. Dunant organized
local people to bind the soldiers' wounds and to feed
and comfort them. On his return, he called for the
creation of national relief societies to assist those
wounded in war, and pointed the way to the future Geneva
Conventions.
In October 1863, The International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement was created in Geneva, Switzerland, to
provide nonpartisan care to the wounded and sick in
times of war. The Red Cross emblem was adopted at this
first International Conference as a symbol of neutrality
and was to be used by national relief societies. In
August 1864, the representatives of 12 governments
signed the Geneva Convention Treaty. The extraordinary
efforts of Henry Dunant led to the eventual
establishment of the International Red Cross. Today, the
Red Cross Movement incorporates the Geneva-based
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (the International Federation), as well as
National Societies in 175 countries, including the
American Red Cross of the United States.
Who
founded the American Red Cross?
Clara Barton (1821-1912) dominates the early history of
the American Red Cross, which was modeled after the
International Red Cross. She did not originate the Red
Cross idea, but she was the first person to establish a
lasting Red Cross Society in America. She successfully
organized the American Association of the Red Cross in
Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1881. Created to serve
America in peace and in war, during times of disaster
and national calamity, Barton's organization took its
service beyond that of the International Red Cross
Movement by adding disaster relief to battlefield
assistance. She served as the organization's volunteer
president until 1904.
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