Rethinking philanthropy for 222 years

On the evening of 24 June 1859, Swiss businessman Henri Dunant arrived in the town of Solferino, northern Italy, to meet with Napoleon III. The Emperor of France was headquartered there while he led his army against the Austrians in the Second Italian War of Independence, and Henri intended to appeal for assistance with difficulties he was having running his business in French-occupied Algeria.

However, earlier that day, a battle had taken place between the Franco-Sardinian alliance and the Austrian army. By the time Henri arrived, 23,000 soldiers were wounded, dead or dying on the battlefield, with little being done to help. Upon seeing the situation, Henri quickly put aside the purpose of his trip and set about mobilising the population of Solferino to help those soldiers who were still alive, organising the acquisition of medical supplies and coordinating the establishment of improvised hospitals. Crucially, Henri persuaded both the population of Solferino to treat the soldiers without regard for which side they fought for and the French army to release the Austrian doctors they had taken as prisoners of war.

Upon his return to Geneva, Henri’s experiences eventually led to a book—A Memory of Solferino—and the ideas of creating a neutral organisation that would care for wounded soldiers from all nations and an international treaty guaranteeing that medics and field hospitals would not be targeted in war. With the support of other influential Genevans, including Alexandre Lombard, one of our founders, Henri spearheaded a campaign that eventually led to his founding the International Committee of the Red Cross and the adoption by 12 states and kingdoms of the first Geneva Convention.