Dunant's Solferino Vision: Birth of the Red Cross
Henry Dunant went to Italy in 1859 to pitch a business deal. He arrived in Solferino the day 40,000 men were killed or wounded in nine hours. No medics. No stretchers. No plan. Bodies everywhere. He abandoned his meeting and spent days organizing locals to help anyone who was bleeding, regardless of which side they fought for. Three years later he published his own book about it and mailed copies to every powerful person in Europe. The pitch: create volunteer medical corps in every country, make battlefield hospitals neutral ground, guarantee protection for medics. On February 9, 1863, he and four Geneva citizens formed a committee to make it real. Eight days later they renamed it the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded. By October they'd convened 36 delegates from 16 countries. That committee became the Red Cross. A failed business trip became the Geneva Conventions.
February 17, 1863
163 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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