Henri Dunant, Switzerland (1828-1910)
Swiss humanitarian and founder of the International Red Cross, a founder of the World's Young Men's Christian Association, and co-winner of the first Nobel Prize for Peace, in 1901. An eyewitness of the Battle of Solférino (24th June 1859), which resulted in nearly 40,000 casualties, Dunant organised emergency aid services for the Austrian and French wounded. In Un Souvenir de Solférino (1862), he proposed the formation in all countries of voluntary relief societies for the prevention and alleviation of suffering in war and peacetime, without distinction of race or creed; he also proposed an international agreement covering the war wounded.
He also promoted his interest in the treatment of prisoners of war, the abolition of slavery, international arbitration, disarmament, and the establishment of a Jewish homeland.