What is Henry Dunant birthday?

Henry Dunant was born at 1828-05-08

When was Henry Dunant died?

Henry Dunant was died at 1910-10-30

Where was Henry Dunant died?

Henry Dunant was died in Heiden

Which age was Henry Dunant died?

Henry Dunant was died at age 82

Where is Henry Dunant's birth place?

Henry Dunant was born in Geneva, Switzerland

What is Henry Dunant nationalities?

Henry Dunant's nationalities is Swiss

What was Henry Dunant universities?

Henry Dunant studied at Collège Calvin

Which company or organization was founded by Henry Dunant?

Henry Dunant was the founder/co-founder of International Committee of the Red Cross, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, Swiss Red Cross

What is Henry Dunant's religion?

Henry Dunant's religion is Calvinism

Who is Henry Dunant's father?

Henry Dunant's father is Jean-Jacques Dunant

Who is Henry Dunant's mother?

Henry Dunant's mother is Antoinette Dunant-Colladon

How famous is Henry Dunant?

Henry Dunant is famouse as Founder of the Red Cross

Henry Dunant - Founder of the Red Cross, Birthday and Facts

Home › Swiss › Henry DunantMay 8, 1828668 views

Henry Dunant Biography Stories Embed this Biography stories

Table of contents

Personal Details
Photo
Overview
Awards
Timeline
FAQ

Nobel Peace Prize Philanthropists Swiss Activists Human Rights Activists Taurus Celebrities

Henry Dunant's Personal Details

Henry Dunant or Jean Henri Dunant was a Swiss social and peace activist who founded the Red Cross and was the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize

Information	Detail
Birthday	May 8, 1828
Died on	October 30, 1910
Nationality	Swiss
Famous	Nobel Peace Prize, Philanthropists, Activists, Human Rights Activists, Founder of the Red Cross
Known as	Jean Henri Dunant
Universities	Collège Calvin
Founder / Co-Founder	International Committee of the Red Cross International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Swiss Red Cross
Birth Place	Geneva, Switzerland
Religion	Calvinism
Gender	Male
Father	Jean-Jacques Dunant
Mother	Antoinette Dunant-Colladon
Sun Sign	Taurus
Born in	Geneva, Switzerland
Famous as	Founder of the Red Cross
Died at Age	82

Who is Henry Dunant?

Henry Dunant or Jean Henri Dunant was a Swiss social and peace activist who founded the Red Cross and was the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize along with a French peacemaker Frederic Passy. Durant had a life that was the opposite of the rags to riches story. His life started from the home of nobility and ended up at a hospice in a small village. It encompassed the fame of giving rise to international bodies for caring of the soldiers wounded in battle to the obscurity of being shunned by all. He remained in the hospice in the obscure village till he was rediscovered and heaped with honors after many years. He was born with a silver spoon but died a pauper. He invested in a company but lost all his fortune by neglecting his business while being busy with humanitarian work. He had to dine on crumbs of bread, sleep on the pavements when he had no money. After settling his debts he left the remaining amount to his relatives and to charitable organizations. Some of this money was also used to reserve a free bed for poor patients in the hospice where he spent his last days.

// Famous Activists

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is a well-known American writer, autistic activist and animal expert. This biography profiles her childhood, life, achievements, career and timeline

Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag is an American critical essayist, cultural analyst, novelist, political activist, filmmaker and playwright of international repute. Read on to find out more about her childhood, career, profile and timeline.

Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian is a famous American singer-songwriter and member of the band, ‘System of a Down’. This biography profiles his childhood, music career, life, achievements and timeline.

Childhood & Early Life

Jean Henri Dunant was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 8, 1828, to a prosperous businessman named Jean-Jaques Dunant and a social activist named Antoinette Dunant-Colladon.

He started social work by forming ‘Thursday Association’ at the age of 18.

When he was 21, Henry Dunant had to leave College Calvin as his grades were not up to the mark.

Career

He joined a banking firm named ‘Lullin et Sautter’ as an apprentice in 1849.

In 1856, he founded a multinational company ‘Financial and Industrial Company of Mons-Djemila Mills’ and bought land in Algeria to grow corn.

He arrived at the town of Solferino, Lombardy, Northern Italy, on June 24, 1859 to bring to the notice of Napoleon III the uncooperative attitude of local Algerian authorities.

He came face-to-face with a battle between the French-Sardinian forces under Napoleon III and the Austrian troops which had left more than 40,000 troops dead, dying or wounded and was moved by their suffering.

He procured medical aid and food, organized civilian nursing and got the release of captive Austrian doctors to help with the wounded soldiers irrespective of their nationalities.

On February 9, 1863, the ‘Geneva Society for Public Welfare’ headed by the Swiss lawyer Gustave Moynier formed a committee of five people after discussing his ideas of helping wounded soldiers.

On February 17, 1863, the ‘International Red Cross’ society was founded during the committee’s first meeting despite disagreements about the neutrality of the society.

Under the leadership of Dunant and Moynier in October 1863, 14 nations decided to set up an organization to care for soldiers wounded in battle.

The ‘Geneva Convention’ came into being on August 22, 1864 which was signed by 12 nations.

In March 1867 Dunant left Geneva never to return again.

In April 1867 Dunant had to declare bankruptcy when his company failed.

He lost his membership and the post of Secretary of the International Committee on August 25, 1868. He was also expelled from the YMCA.

The ‘Geneva Trade Court’ condemned Durant of business malpractices August 17, 1868.

During the Franco-Prussian conflict from 1870 to 1871, he founded the ‘Common Relief Society’ to help soldiers wounded in battle.

Hounded by debtors and especially Moynier, Dunant spent the period from 1874 to 1886 in abject poverty while staying in the cities of Rome, Basel, Corfu, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart.

In July 1887 he shifted to the small Swiss village named Heiden which he had visited with some Stuttgart friends in 1881.

In 1890 he was made the honorary president of the temporary Heiden chapter of the Red Cross founded by Susanna Sonderegger, the wife of a teacher named Wilhelm Sonderegger.

On April 30, 1892 he became very sick and took up quarters in a hospice in Heiden where he remained till his death.

Georg Baumberger, the editor-in-chief of ‘St. Gall’, met him in Heiden and brought out his contributions to the formation of the International Red Cross Society in 1895. This was corroborated in 1897 in a book written by Rudolf Muller, a teacher in Stuttgart whom Durant had met there.

Jean Henri Dunant wrote his first book titled ‘An account of the regency in Tunis’ in 1853 after coming back from an assignment to Tunisia, Sicily and Algeria which was published in 1858 which had a chapter on slavery.

He wrote his second book titled ‘A Memory of Solferino’ in 1859 which was published in 1862. The book described the battle, the cost of human lives lost and the chaos that followed later.

Awards & Achievements

Georg Baumberger’s article helped him to get the Swiss Binet-Fendt Prize in 1895. Pope Leo XIII also sent him a note of appreciation.

Rudolf Muller’s book helped him to receive the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 along with the French pacifist Frederic Passy.

Personal Life & Legacy

Jean Henri Dunant died in the Heiden hospice in Switzerland on October 30, 1910. He left behind a daughter from his marriage.

He had suffered from depression and paranoia during his life in Heiden.

His birthday on May 8 of every year is celebrated as the ‘World Red Cross Day’

The hospice is now called the ‘Henry Dunant museum’. Streets and roads in many cities of the world including Geneva are named after him.

Humanitarian Work

His movement for aiding wounded soldiers in battle and activity in forming the ‘Red Cross’ is considered as the greatest achievement in the nineteenth century.

Trivia

Though Jean Henri Durant was a Calvinist in his younger days and became an agnostic in his later life.

// Famous Human Rights Activists

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton is a Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter. Read this biography to learn more about his childhood, profile, life and timeline.

Maggie McGuane

Maggie McGuane is the daughter of Canadian-American actress and activist Margot Kidder. Check out this biography to know about her family, personal life, age, birthday, etc.

Anita Roddick

Anita Roddick was the founder of ‘The Body Shop’, the popular cosmetic brand. This article offers detailed information about her life, career, profile, humanitarian works and timeline

Henry Dunant's awards

Year	Name	Award
Other
0	Nobel Peace Prize (1901)

Henry Dunant biography timelines

// 8th May 1828
Jean Henri Dunant was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 8, 1828, to a prosperous businessman named Jean-Jaques Dunant and a social activist named Antoinette Dunant-Colladon.
// 1849
He joined a banking firm named ‘Lullin et Sautter’ as an apprentice in 1849.
// 1853 To 1858
Jean Henri Dunant wrote his first book titled ‘An account of the regency in Tunis’ in 1853 after coming back from an assignment to Tunisia, Sicily and Algeria which was published in 1858 which had a chapter on slavery.
// 1856
In 1856, he founded a multinational company ‘Financial and Industrial Company of Mons-Djemila Mills’ and bought land in Algeria to grow corn.
// 1859 To 1862
He wrote his second book titled ‘A Memory of Solferino’ in 1859 which was published in 1862. The book described the battle, the cost of human lives lost and the chaos that followed later.
// 24th Jun 1859
He arrived at the town of Solferino, Lombardy, Northern Italy, on June 24, 1859 to bring to the notice of Napoleon III the uncooperative attitude of local Algerian authorities.
// 9th Feb 1863
On February 9, 1863, the ‘Geneva Society for Public Welfare’ headed by the Swiss lawyer Gustave Moynier formed a committee of five people after discussing his ideas of helping wounded soldiers.
// 17th Feb 1863
On February 17, 1863, the ‘International Red Cross’ society was founded during the committee’s first meeting despite disagreements about the neutrality of the society.
// Oct 1863
Under the leadership of Dunant and Moynier in October 1863, 14 nations decided to set up an organization to care for soldiers wounded in battle.
// 22nd Aug 1864
The ‘Geneva Convention’ came into being on August 22, 1864 which was signed by 12 nations.
// Mar 1867
In March 1867 Dunant left Geneva never to return again.
// Apr 1867
In April 1867 Dunant had to declare bankruptcy when his company failed.
// 17th Aug 1868
The ‘Geneva Trade Court’ condemned Durant of business malpractices August 17, 1868.
// 25th Aug 1868
He lost his membership and the post of Secretary of the International Committee on August 25, 1868. He was also expelled from the YMCA.
// 1870 To 1871
During the Franco-Prussian conflict from 1870 to 1871, he founded the ‘Common Relief Society’ to help soldiers wounded in battle.
// 1874 To 1886
Hounded by debtors and especially Moynier, Dunant spent the period from 1874 to 1886 in abject poverty while staying in the cities of Rome, Basel, Corfu, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart.
// Jul 1881 To Jul 1887
In July 1887 he shifted to the small Swiss village named Heiden which he had visited with some Stuttgart friends in 1881.
// 1890
In 1890 he was made the honorary president of the temporary Heiden chapter of the Red Cross founded by Susanna Sonderegger, the wife of a teacher named Wilhelm Sonderegger.
// 30th Apr 1892
On April 30, 1892 he became very sick and took up quarters in a hospice in Heiden where he remained till his death.
// 1895 To 1897
Georg Baumberger, the editor-in-chief of ‘St. Gall’, met him in Heiden and brought out his contributions to the formation of the International Red Cross Society in 1895. This was corroborated in 1897 in a book written by Rudolf Muller, a teacher in Stuttgart whom Durant had met there.
// 1895
Georg Baumberger’s article helped him to get the Swiss Binet-Fendt Prize in 1895. Pope Leo XIII also sent him a note of appreciation.
// 1901
Rudolf Muller’s book helped him to receive the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 along with the French pacifist Frederic Passy.
// 30th Oct 1910
Jean Henri Dunant died in the Heiden hospice in Switzerland on October 30, 1910. He left behind a daughter from his marriage.

// Famous Nobel Peace Prize

Henry Dunant's FAQ

What is Henry Dunant birthday?
Henry Dunant was born at 1828-05-08
When was Henry Dunant died?
Henry Dunant was died at 1910-10-30
Where was Henry Dunant died?
Henry Dunant was died in Heiden
Which age was Henry Dunant died?
Henry Dunant was died at age 82
Where is Henry Dunant's birth place?
Henry Dunant was born in Geneva, Switzerland
What is Henry Dunant nationalities?
Henry Dunant's nationalities is Swiss
What was Henry Dunant universities?
Henry Dunant studied at Collège Calvin
Which company or organization was founded by Henry Dunant?
Henry Dunant was the founder/co-founder of International Committee of the Red Cross, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, Swiss Red Cross
What is Henry Dunant's religion?
Henry Dunant's religion is Calvinism
Who is Henry Dunant's father?
Henry Dunant's father is Jean-Jacques Dunant
Who is Henry Dunant's mother?
Henry Dunant's mother is Antoinette Dunant-Colladon
What is Henry Dunant's sun sign?
Henry Dunant is Taurus
How famous is Henry Dunant?
Henry Dunant is famouse as Founder of the Red Cross