Today in 1881: The American Red Cross was founded. This vintage image features ladies of the Plainfield American Red Cross #1, circa 1920s.

"In Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons founded the American National Red Cross, an organization established to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in congruence with the International Red Cross.

Barton, born in Massachusetts in 1821, worked with the sick and wounded during the American Civil War and became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her tireless dedication. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln commissioned her to search for lost prisoners of war, and with the extensive records she had compiled during the war she succeeded in identifying thousands of the Union dead at the Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp.

She was in Europe in 1870 when the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and she went behind the German lines to work for the International Red Cross. In 1873, she returned to the United States, and four years later she organized an American branch of the International Red Cross. The American Red Cross received its first U.S. federal charter in 1900. Barton headed the organization into her 80s and died in 1912." via The History Channel

The History Press shared Book Riot's photo.

It's like watching a movie in your head!

Timeline Photos

By: Book Riot

THP author Lili Debarbieri launched her new website this weekend--celebrate with her by checking out the free book excerpt (under the "books" tab)!

Lili DeBarbieri — best-selling author & travel expert

lilidebarbieri.com

best-selling author & travel expert

This undated file picture shows the German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun while dining.

A German woman named Margot Woelk was one of 15 young women who sampled Hitler's food to make sure it wasn’t poisoned before it was served to the Nazi leader in his "Wolf's Lair," the heavily guarded command center in what is now Poland, where he spent much of his time in the final years of World War II.

Margot Woelk kept her secret hidden from the world, even from her husband then, a few months after her 95th birthday, she revealed the truth about her wartime role.

The petite widow's story is a tale of the horror, pain and dislocation endured by people of all sides who survived World War II. Read more at http://yhoo.it/17mH7dl.