Henry Dunant

Jean Henri Dunant (May 8, 1828 – October 30, 1910) (often called Henry Dunant or Henri Dunant) was a Swiss businessman and humanitarian who founded the Red Cross movement. He was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 (with Frédéric Passy).

Related Topics:
May 8 - 1828 - October 30 - 1910 - Swiss - Humanitarian - Red Cross - Nobel Peace Prize - 1901 - Frédéric Passy

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A man deeply religious in the Calvinist tradition and committed to the principle of "Love thy neighbor", Dunant crisscrossed Europe, lecturing on the evils of slavery. While in Italy in 1859, he visited the site of the Battle of Solferino, where he was stunned by the many thousands of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield to die, without receiving even the most basic medical attention that might have saved them. Upon his return to Geneva he wrote Un Souvenir de Solferino (Fr. A Memory of Solferino, published November 8, 1862), a memoir of his experiences in Italy, in which he advocated the establishment of an international network of volunteer relief agencies. The book won the attention of Switzerland's Federal Council and in 1863, that country sponsored an international conference to discuss ways to implement Dunant's ideas as he expressed them in the Nine Articles. Sixteen countries attended the conference on August 22, 1864 and twelve ratified the document, which became the basis for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the First Geneva Convention.

Related Topics:
Calvinist - Europe - Slavery - Italy - 1859 - Battle of Solferino - Geneva - November 8 - 1862 - Switzerland's Federal Council - 1863 - August 22 - 1864 - International Committee of the Red Cross - First Geneva Convention

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In the following years, Dunant wrote prolifically on disarmament and the establishment of an international court to arbitrate conflicts between countries. He also neglected his personal affairs and fell into debt, poverty, and obscurity.

Related Topics:
Disarmament - International court

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Dunant is also linked to freemasonry.

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When the first Nobel Prize was awarded, there was some debate as to whether he should even receive it, since by then the Red Cross had become such a well-established organization that its links to Dunant were all but forgotten. Some suggested that he receive the prize for Medicine, since that was the primary contribution of the Red Cross. In a final compromise, it was decided that Dunant would share the prize with Frédéric Passy, a prominent French pacifist. Dunants part of the prize money remained in a bank in Norway. He never touched the money until his death.

Related Topics:
Nobel Prize - Medicine - Frédéric Passy - French - Pacifist

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He died in 1910 in a small room in the hospital in Heiden (Switzerland) where he had lived for the last 18 years of his life. In his testament, his financial estate consisting of the Nobel Prize money and some money from numerous donations, he endowed a "free bed" to be available in the hospital for the poorest citizens. Furthermore, small sums went to a couple of close friends to thank them for their support. The rest of the money was used to support charities in Norway and Switzerland and to pay off parts of his debts.

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