A Red Cross nurse at work.George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
- Henry Dunant co-founded the original Red Cross in his home country of Switzerland in 1863 to tend to the wounded from war.
- The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton in 1881.
- Red Cross nurses carried out humanitarian aid and treated soldiers on the frontlines.
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World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on May 8 each year to mark the birthday of Henry Dunant, founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 for his work.
Dunant co-founded the original Red Cross in his home country of Switzerland in 1863. Various other Red Cross societies began forming (including the American Red Cross in 1881), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 as a way to consolidate them all.
In honor of Dunant's birthday, here are 20 vintage photos of Red Cross nurses doing what they do best: tending to those affected by war and disasters around the world.
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