International Red Cross Founded: 18 Nations Agree
Delegates from 18 nations gathered in Geneva on October 29, 1863, and agreed to treat wounded soldiers regardless of which side they fought for. The idea belonged to Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman who had witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in 1859, where 40,000 casualties lay on the field with almost no medical care. Dunant published A Memory of Solferino in 1862, calling for the creation of national relief societies and international agreements to protect the wounded. The Geneva Convention of 1864 formalized these principles into binding international law. The Red Cross emblem, a reversal of the Swiss flag, was chosen to signal neutrality. The organization has since expanded to cover civilians in wartime, prisoners of war, and victims of natural disasters, operating in virtually every country on earth.
October 29, 1863
163 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 29
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