Henry Dunant

Henry Dunant (1828–1910) was a Swiss humanitarian whose account of the Battle of Solferino inspired the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross and helped lead to the First Geneva Convention.

A Memory of Solferino: Henry Dunant’s 1862 book describing the suffering after Solferino and proposing organized aid for wounded soldiers. Dunant used this account to press for voluntary relief societies and international protections.
Geneva Conventions: A set of treaties that establish protections for people affected by armed conflict. The 1864 convention Dunant inspired became the foundation of this later treaty system.
Gustave Moynier: A Swiss jurist and humanitarian who helped found and lead the International Committee of the Red Cross. Moynier worked alongside Dunant but later clashed with him over leadership and finances.
Francis Lieber: A German-American jurist whose 1863 code set rules for Union forces during the American Civil War. Lieber’s military code pursued wartime restraint through national military rules, unlike Dunant’s treaty campaign.
International Committee of the Red Cross: A humanitarian organization founded in Geneva in 1863 to protect and assist victims of armed conflict. Dunant helped establish the committee that turned his proposals into organized action.
Red Cross emblem: A red cross on a white background, used to identify protected medical services in armed conflict. The emblem adopted in 1864 gave Dunant’s relief movement a recognizable sign of protection.
Guillaume-Henri Dufour: A Swiss general and statesman who helped establish the International Committee of the Red Cross. Dufour chaired the committee that organized Dunant’s proposal into a Geneva institution.
Florence Nightingale: A British nurse and reformer who transformed military nursing and public-health administration. Nightingale favored trained nursing and administrative reform, while Dunant emphasized voluntary relief societies and international law.
First Geneva Convention: The 1864 treaty establishing protections for wounded soldiers and medical personnel in wartime. The convention adopted the core protection Dunant had advocated after Solferino.
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: Independent humanitarian organizations recognized in their countries and linked through the international movement. Dunant’s proposal for national relief societies took institutional form in these organizations.

Linked from 17 pages