Mackinnon, Eleanor (1871-1936), was a founder of Junior Red Cross in Australia. When the first Red Cross units were established in Australia in 1914 as branches of the British Red Cross, Mackinnon urged that children be allowed to enter. In 1916, Mackinnon persuaded the New South Wales director of education to run Junior Red Cross circles in schools. In 1918, she approached the international Committee of the Red Cross to spread Junior Red Cross units to other countries. Today, all Australian schools and schools in more than 70 other nations have such units. Mackinnon was born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, on Feb. 8, 1871. She died on Jan. 31, 1936.
