Henry Dunant

Born in Geneva in 1828, Jean-Henri Dunant grew up in a deeply religious family known for charitable work. After seeing thousands of wounded soldiers abandoned after the Battle of Solferino in 1859, he wrote A Memory of Solferino, a book that called for organized volunteer relief for the war-wounded.

Those ideas helped lead to the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 and to the diplomatic efforts that produced the first Geneva Convention in 1864. Although business failures later pushed him into poverty and long years of obscurity, his humanitarian vision continued to shape international relief work.

Recognition came back late in life. In 1901 he shared the first Nobel Peace Prize, and he died in 1910 in Heiden, Switzerland. Today he is remembered as one of the central figures behind modern humanitarian action.