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).