Dunant, Jean Henri

Dunant, Jean Henri (zhäN äNrē` dünäN`), 1828–1910, Swiss philanthropist and founder of the International Red Cross, b. Geneva. In 1862 appeared his Un souvenir de Solférino (tr. The Origins of the Red Cross, 1911), a description of the sufferings of the wounded at the battle of Solferino and a plea for organizations to care for the war wounded. There was an immediate response. Gustave Moynier and the Société genevoise d'Utilité publique took up the cause. An international conference in 1863 led to the conference of 1864 that adopted the Geneva Convention and established the Red Cross. Dunant aided other causes and wrote several books. He shared with Frédéric Passy the first Nobel Peace Prize (1901).

Bibliography

See J. Rich, Jean Henri Dunant, Founder of the International Red Cross (1956); V. K. Libby, Henry Dunant: Prophet of Peace (1964); H. N. Pandit, The Red Cross and Henry Dunant (1969).

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Dunant, Jean Henri 

Born May 8, 1828, in Geneva; died Oct. 30, 1910, in Heiden, Appenzell Canton. Swiss public figure and writer; founder of the International Red Cross.

In 1859, Dunant organized help to the wounded in the battle of Solferino during the Austro-Sardinian War of 1859 (in Russian, the Austro-Italo-French War of 1859). In Un Souvenir de Solférino, published in 1862, he proposed the creation of an international society to help war casualties. A conference called in Geneva in 1863 upon Dunant’s initiative founded the International Red Cross. Dunant won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

WORKS

Un Souvenir de Solférino. Geneva, 1862.
Fraternité et charité internationales en temps de guerre. [Paris] 1864.
L’Esclavage chez les musulmans et aux Etats Unis de l’Amérique. Geneva, 1863.
La Rénovation de l’Orient. Geneva, 1865.

REFERENCES

Sachse, W. Henri Dunant. Berlin, 1959.
Libby, V. K. Henry Dunant: Prophet of Peace. New York, 1964.