Henry Dunant was a Swiss businessman, born in Geneva, known as the father of the Red Cross. In 1859, he helped care for the wounded in northern Italy and then came to argue that humanitarian relief should be organised in advance and protected by an agreement among nations. His ideas led to the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross and to the first Geneva Convention.
Who was Henry Dunant
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jean Henry Dunant was born on 8 May 1828 in Geneva, Switzerland. He grew up in a well-off family and, while still young, took part in the city's charitable associations, which brought help to poor and sick people.
At the same time, Dunant was building a career as a businessman. It was on a business trip to Italy that he came face to face with the episode that would change his life.
What happened in 1859
On 24 June 1859, Dunant arrived in northern Italy on the same day as the Battle of Solferino. According to the ICRC, thousands of people were wounded and the available medical services were not enough. Dunant helped organise relief for the wounded, with the support of the local population.
From that moment on, according to the ICRC, his business and other interests took second place. He wanted to find a way to prevent, or at least reduce, such suffering in the future.
The book and the two ideas
Back in Geneva, Dunant published A Memory of Solferino in 1862. The book set out two main ideas:
- to train volunteers in relief committees, in times of peace, so that they could help care for the wounded in times of conflict. These committees gave rise to the first National Red Cross Societies;
- to establish an international agreement that would recognise these committees and guarantee their protection.
The proposal was received with enthusiasm. Dunant travelled to several European capitals and spoke with influential people, who listened to his proposals with attention.
How the ICRC was born
The International Committee of the Red Cross was created in Geneva on 17 February 1863. Dunant and four other citizens of Geneva were among its founders. In 1864, the first Geneva Convention turned the ideas in the book into a treaty and became the foundation of modern International Humanitarian Law. To understand what the Committee does today and how it relates to the National Societies, read the article on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (in Portuguese).
This is why Dunant is called the founder, or father, of the Red Cross: the idea that brought people together was his, the book that spread it was his, and so was the initial impetus for the Committee. Building the Committee and the treaty, however, was collective work.
His last years and the Nobel Peace Prize
The attention Dunant received did not last. According to the ICRC, the businesses he had set aside had to be wound up, and he gave up almost everything he owned to pay his creditors. He left Geneva at the age of 39 and never returned. He spent the next twenty years with few resources, supported in part by friends and family, and around 1892 he moved into a care home, where he stayed until the end of his life.
In 1901, the Nobel committee awarded Dunant the first Nobel Peace Prize, shared with the Frenchman Frédéric Passy. Too frail to travel, he received the prize at home. According to the Nobel Prize website, he died on 30 October 1910 in Heiden, Switzerland.
The role of the Red Cross
Dunant's life shows how a simple idea, that everyone who suffers deserves help, can become a network of volunteers in many countries. That network is today the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (in Portuguese), of which the Brazilian Red Cross is a part as the National Society of Brazil.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Henry Dunant? He was a Swiss businessman, born in Geneva in 1828, who helped care for the wounded in 1859 and proposed the creation of volunteer relief societies and of an international agreement. He is known as the father of the Red Cross.
Did Henry Dunant found the Red Cross alone? No. He had the idea and wrote the book that spread it, but the International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in 1863 by him and four other citizens of Geneva.
What book did Henry Dunant write? A Memory of Solferino, published in 1862, in which he proposed training relief volunteers in times of peace and creating an international agreement to protect them.
Did Henry Dunant win the Nobel Peace Prize? Yes. In 1901 he received the first Nobel Peace Prize, shared with Frédéric Passy.
Sources and references
- Henry Dunant: biography — ICRC (in Portuguese): birth, career, businesses, last years and the 1901 Nobel Prize.
- 160 years of humanity — ICRC (in Portuguese): Solferino, the 1862 book, the founding of the ICRC on 17 February 1863 and the 1864 Convention.
- Henry Dunant: facts — NobelPrize.org: the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize and the date and place of death.
First published in Portuguese on 17 October 2026. Read the original →