Dunant's book advocated the formation of an organisation that would provide relief for the wounded without discrimination in times of war. In February 1863, Dunant was a member of a five–person committee that sought to put his plan into action, which in effect founded the organisation that would become the International Committee of the Red Cross. A year later he took part in a diplomatic conference organised by the Swiss government, which led to the signing of the First Geneva Convention.
Dunant became embroiled in a business scandal in 1867, which resulted in his bankruptcy and expulsion from the International Committee. He spent the next decades in poverty and obscurity, living in various places across Europe before settling in the Swiss village of Heiden. In 1895 he was rediscovered by a journalist, which brought him renewed attention and support, and in 1901 he was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize alongside the French pacifist Frédéric Passy, who was a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter–Parliamentary Union.
Dunant died in Heiden in 1910.
© Haydn Thompson 2023