Who was the first president of the American Red Cross?

The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross,  is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education in the United States. It is the designated US affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Clara Barton (1821–1912) founded the American chapter after learning of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1869, she went to Europe and became involved in the work of the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War. She determined to bring the organization to America.

Barton became President of the American branch of the society, known as the American National Red Cross in May 1881 in Washington. The first chapters opened in upstate New York, where she had connections. Barton led one of the group's first major relief efforts, a response to the September 4–6, 1881 Great Fire of 1881 (Thumb Fire) in the Thumb region of Michigan. Over 5,000 people were left homeless. The next major disaster was the Johnstown Flood, which occurred on May 31, 1889. Over 2,209 people died and thousands more were injured in or near Johnstown, Pennsylvania in one of the worst disasters in United States history.