Whose Work Established the International Red Cross?

Swiss businessman Henry Dunant was so shocked by the suffering of wounded soldiers left without care after the Battle of Solferino (1859) that he wrote A Memory of Solferino (1862), calling for neutral volunteer relief organisations. His advocacy led to the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863 and the first Geneva Convention (1864), which established rules for the treatment of wounded soldiers. Dunant shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. The Red Cross/Red Crescent movement now operates in virtually every country.